>>12705499

Vic MP 'very pleased' Leifer to face court

Former Victorian attorney-general Martin Pakula says he is "very pleased" Malka Leifer will soon face an Australian court.

Leifer, an ex-principal of a Jewish girls' school in Melbourne, is close to completing her long-awaited extradition from Israel to face child sexual abuse charges.

She is expected to touch down at Melbourne airport aboard a connecting flight from Singapore as early as Wednesday, Nine News reports.

It will be the first time Leifer has been on Australia soil since 2008, when she fled to Israel after learning three of her former students intended to file a complaint with police.

Mr Pakula on Wednesday welcomed the news Leifer had finally been extradited.

"I'm sure those people who have been agitating and clamouring for her to return will be very pleased that at long last her day in court will come," the racing minister told reporters.

"I'm very pleased that has occurred."

Leifer will go into hotel quarantine for 14 days once she returns to Melbourne.

It is believed she could virtually appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court as early as this week for an initial hearing.

Leifer will be entitled to apply for bail.

The flight is the final leg of Leifer's extradition which started with her boarding a Frankfurt-bound plane at Tel Aviv on Monday, just hours before the closure of Israel's airports due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Pictures published by local media showed Leifer about to board a flight wearing handcuffs and legcuffs.

She is wanted in Australia on 74 charges of child rape and sexual abuse stemming from her time as principal at Melbourne's Orthodox Addas Israel School.

The Victorian government on Tuesday welcomed Leifer's extradition.

"Our position has always been clear - Malka Leifer needs to return to Victoria to face these very serious allegations," a spokeswoman said.

"Our thoughts are with the people who have continued to advocate for her return and we acknowledge how significant this next step is for them."

Longtime victim supporter Manny Waks said it was unclear how long her case would take to progress through Victoria's legal system given its COVID-driven backlog.

Israel's Supreme Court approved her extradition order in December and Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn approved the order the following day.

In a tweet, Mr Nissenkorn wrote: "I promised that I would not hinder the extradition order, and that's what I have done. Malka Leifer's victims will finally earn an act of justice."

Leifer's final failed appeal followed 74 hearings in Israeli courts, which have been drawn out on the basis of her mental illness claims.

After fleeing Australia in 2008, she was first arrested in Israel in 2014 only to be freed from house arrest on the condition she undertook psychiatric assessments.

An independent undercover investigation proved Leifer was feigning mental illness and she was re-arrested in 2018.

https://thewest.com.au/politics/law-and-order/malka-leifer-close-to-melbourne-arrival-ng-s-2046927

>>12705499

Former Adass Israel School board president ‘can’t recall helping Malka Leifer flee’

Former Adass Israel School board president Yitzhak Benedikt says he is unable to recall his role in helping accused paedophile principal Malka Leifer flee Australia in the hours after she was sacked amid child sex abuse allegations almost 13 years ago.

His statement came as Ms Leifer was expected to arrive in Melbourne late on Wednesday, having been taken into Victoria Police custody in Israel on Monday after more than a decade of effort from alleged victims, advocates, prosecutors, sections of the Australian Jewish community, diplomats and politicians.

Mr Benedikt, who was found by a Victorian Supreme Court judge to have “appreciated” that Ms Leifer had a case to answer when the school board arranged for her to fly to Israel in 2008, told The Australian on Tuesday he had suffered “a stroke”.

“I don’t remember anything,” he said outside his Balaclava home in Melbourne’s southeast.

In awarding one of Ms Leifer’s alleged victims, Dassi Erlich, $1.2m in compensation in 2015, judge Jack Rush found Mr Benedikt and board member Mark Ernst had organised Ms Leifer’s 1:20am flight hours after she was sacked, despite being fully aware of her alleged crimes.

“At the time of her (Ms Leifer’s) departure, the president of the board, Mr Benedikt, was aware of at least eight separate ­allegations of sexual misconduct involving Leifer and the girls at the school, in addition to the initial complaints,” Justice Rush found in response to Ms Erlich’s civil case. “The allegations amounted to Leifer being a serial sexual abuser.”

Justice Rush found Mr Ernst had instructed his wife, Hadassa, to buy the ticket for Ms Leifer following a late-night meeting of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish school’s board.

When The Australian approached Ms Ernst on Tuesday, she said: “I have nothing to tell you.”

Victoria Police remained tight-lipped on Tuesday regarding the timing of Ms Leifer’s arrival in Melbourne, but The Australian understands she flew from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt, in Germany, on Monday, and from there was expected to fly to Melbourne, arriving on Wednesday.

She was required to return a negative coronavirus test before she was allowed to board the plane in Israel, and on arrival in Melbourne will immediately be held in Victoria Police quarantine until she can be brought before court via video for the commencement of proceedings.

All new prisoners in Victoria must serve a 14-day quarantine period during which they are tested regularly for coronavirus.

A spokeswoman for the Andrews government said all quarantine arrangements were approved by the Department of Health and Human Services.

“Across the justice system, there are well established processes to manage the risk of corona­virus in custody,” she said.

Former Victorian premier Ted Baillieu — who advocated for Ms Leifer’s alleged victims, Ms Erlich and her sisters Ellie Sapper and Nicole Meyer — said he had exchanged mess­ages with them on Monday. “They’re relieved,” he said on Tuesday. “It’s been an extraordinarily long time and required enormous ­patience and resilience.”

The sisters have declined to comment on Ms Leifer’s extradition for legal reasons.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/former-adass-israel-school-board-president-cant-recall-helping-malka-leifer-flee/news-story/6e93f549285a1560e936eb0a895f26e6

Ghislaine Maxwell asks for case to be dismissed because jurors weren’t diverse enough

Ghislaine Maxwell, who has been charged with recruiting teenaged girls for sex, has asked a judge to dismiss her case because the pool of jurors who indicted her was not diverse enough.

Lawyers representing British socialite argued there weren’t enough black and Hispanic jurors included in the pool.

Ms Maxwell, 59, is charged with recruiting and grooming three teenage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein between 1994 and 1997, and partaking in some of the abuse herself.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, prosecutors opted to use a grand jury empaneled in White Plains to indict Maxwell, instead of jurors from New York City, Ms Maxwells lawyers said in court papers.

“In doing so, the government procured Ms. Maxwell’s indictment using a grand jury pool that excluded residents of the community in which Ms. Maxwell allegedly committed the offences with which she is charged, and in which she will be tried, in favour of a grand jury drawn from a community in which Black and Hispanic residents are significantly under-represented by comparison,” the filing said.

“The fact that Ms Maxwell herself is neither Black nor Hispanic does not deprive of her of standing to raise this challenge,” the lawyers added. They argued that the US constitution “entitles every defendant to object to a [pool] that is not designed to represent a fair cross section of the community, whether or not the systematically excluded groups are groups to which he himself belongs”.

The lawyers also claimed Ms Maxwell was protected by a non-prosecution deal convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein reached with federal prosecutors in 2007.

The terms of that agreement sought to protect Epstein and his closest associates, but Ms Maxwell was not identified by name in the document which was signed as Mr Epstein agreed to plead guilty to state charges in 2008.

The arguments are among a dozen motions Ms Maxwell’s lawyers filed on Monday seeking to dismiss or reduce the federal charges she faces.

Epstein’s lawyers planned to use the non-prosecution agreement in his defence against federal charges filed against him in 2019, before he took his life in his Manhattan jail cell a month after his arrest.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/ghislaine-maxwell-asks-for-case-to-be-dismissed-because-jurors-werent-diverse-enough/news-story/a149fa1d1b39671d9bfb75d3ebeac911

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17318376/united-states-v-maxwell/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.539612/gov.uscourts.nysd.539612.126.0.pdf

Cambodian children abused by paedophile Geoffrey Moyle could receive compensation

An Adelaide court is considering whether it can order a paedophile to compensate his abuse survivors in South-East Asia, with the judge suggesting the payments would be an Australian first.

Geoffrey William Moyle, 47, has pleaded guilty to 11 offences, including nine counts relating to the sexual abuse of children in Cambodia between 2002 and 2005.

The court heard the children were "forced to be in brothels".

Moyle is awaiting sentencing in the South Australian District Court, which heard that the Cambodian survivors were seeking compensation from their abuser.

But Judge Paul Cuthbertson said he needed to further examine the law, and the intention of Parliament when laws allowing compensation to be ordered during criminal proceedings were enacted.

He said ordering compensation be sent overseas would likely be an Australian first.

"There haven't been any cases in Australia, so everyone is coming out of this fresh, and there are a number of issues that I'm wondering about," he said.

"I'm not saying there isn't an answer to it somewhere, but I'm not aware of it."

The court was told the Director of Public Prosecutions would not be asking Judge Cuthbertson to order the survivors be granted compensation because they could launch civil action against their predator.

But Judge Cuthbertson questioned how a poor child from Cambodia would do that.

"It would be a big thing for a poor individual in Cambodia to run a civil case in Australia," he said.

He added that if he did make an order for compensation, he was unsure how much to award them given $5,000, for example, could be a "fortune" in Cambodia.

Jonathan Wells QC, who is representing one of the survivors for free, told the court that the reason compensation was being sought was because Moyle had assets, including a house in Adelaide.

He asked Judge Cuthbertson to "freeze" those assets until the issue of compensation had been sorted out.

"It ensures there's not any steps taken to reduce any equity in that property," he said.

Mr Wells also told the court that his client wanted Moyle to be physically present in court when her impact statement was read to the court.

Moyle has sore back, lawyer claims

State laws allow a victim to request their perpetrator attend court to hear their statement, rather than appear via video-link from jail.

But Heath Barklay QC, for Moyle, told the court that his client had a sore back and could not travel from Mount Gambier Prison to Adelaide to attend court in March.

Judge Cuthbertson has requested a report from prison authorities to determine if Moyle can travel in a car, rather than a prison van.

In his online profile, which has since been deleted, Moyle stated he worked in Cambodia for a decade as the South-East Asia director of an international engineering consultancy company.

It stated he was "retained" by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) as a "specialist" under its Aid Advisory Panel.

But DFAT said he had never worked for the department.

Moyle's case will be back before the court tomorrow for argument about whether his assets should be frozen.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-27/victims-of-paedophile-geoffrey-moyle-could-be-compensated/13094642

Opinion: What Australia needs from the new Biden administration

Alexander Downer - Jan 26, 2021

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The greatest diplomats have three qualities. First, they understand their own country’s priorities and interests and the moods of their own people. Secondly, they have the intellectual capacity to grasp the history and the zeitgeist of the country to which they’re accredited. And thirdly, through a combination of intellectual prowess and networking, they are able to exercise influence over the government to which they are accredited.

So now we have a new administration coming in to office in Washington. From our chief diplomat – the foreign minister – down, Australia needs to start exercising these qualities and fast.

First and foremost, I’m sure the embassy in Washington, led by the ambassador, is furnishing Canberra with a large amount of information on the likely positions of the Biden administration on issues of significance to Australia. If precedence is any guide, the embassy will be flooding Canberra with cables based on conversations with incoming members of the administration and people who know them well. That is good information to have.

But DFAT and other key departments should be doing much more than that. They should be formulating a strategy document designed to brief ministers and our diplomats in Washington on how to steer the Biden administration in the direction we want, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.

Being the foreign minister is no easy job. You can’t just legislate to make things happen. Frequently, you have to use every imaginable legitimate and legal means to try to influence other countries. At this time, our foreign minister and other ministers have to influence the incoming Biden administration, not just wait to hear what they plan to do.

There are three very simple geopolitical initiatives we should be pressing on the Biden team. First, we should make it clear to them that peace in the Indo-Pacific region must be underwritten by a balance of power. That means not just a continuing United States presence in the region but that the United States needs to work with and treasure its allies. Just calling a country an ally is not enough. The Americans need to consult and listen to the advice that, in particular, we and the Japanese may give them.

Part of the commitment by the Americans to their allies must include a continuation of the Quad arrangement with Australia, Japan and India. There must be a commitment to continue to work with those countries on issues as diverse as military training and cyber security.

The big point is, if stability is to be achieved in an environment where China is not just getting stronger but has become arrogant and aggressive, the Americans need to remain strategically oriented towards the Indo-Pacific region and collaboration with their allies.

Secondly, the new administration should be told by Australia that for the Indo-Pacific region to thrive there must be an agreed framework for all countries in the region to collaborate. That framework needs to be underwritten by both the rule of international law and by the institutions of the region. In particular, institutions like APEC, the East Asia summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum all help to provide a diplomatic grid within which the region’s nations are able to work together.

The United States has to show real commitment to these institutions. The President must attend the East Asia summit and the APEC summit, and the secretary of state needs to participate in the ASEAN Regional Forum. These critical institutions cannot be left to their deputies.

(continued)

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Thirdly, the Australian government needs to tell the new administration it needs to recognise the importance of engaging more productively in the economic architecture of the region. In particular, the Americans need to understand the importance, economically and geopolitically, of joining the comprehensive and progressive trans-Pacific partnership – the CPTPP.

For the Americans, being in the CPTPP would be a very clear demonstration of the geopolitical commitment to the region on a lasting basis. But it would also have a more short-term transactional advantage. It would facilitate countries in the region reducing their dependency on supply chains from China. They will start to build alternative supply chains among themselves which will make them less vulnerable to economic bullying by China.

Beyond this geopolitical vision, there are plenty of significant issues which reinforce that vision where Australia can collaborate with the Biden administration. Conversations with them about growing Chinese influence in the South Pacific, about how to encourage infrastructure investment from the US, Australia, Japan and other Western allies in south-east Asia and, above all, conversations about COVID-19 and the distribution of vaccines would all be invaluable.

We could be putting specific initiatives to the Americans, for example on the distribution of vaccines into south-east Asia using the American, Australian and perhaps Japanese aid budgets.

From my experience, the most effective way of exercising geopolitical influence in East Asia and the South Pacific is to demonstrate the value of Australia as a partner. That means helping with security, including cyber security, helping with health challenges, helping with disaster relief, and so the list goes on. The more useful we are, the more our neighbours will embrace and engage us.

There is, though, a tough message for the Americans. Lectures won’t work. They have to demonstrate in practical ways the value they bring to the region.

I’d be frank with the Biden administration. America has lost its glamour as a beacon of freedom and democracy. On the one hand there have been the controversies and verbal ineptitude of the Trump years, on the other there is the obsession among the Democrats with concepts like identity politics and affirmative action. Critical theory isn’t a vision of freedom and democracy which inspires the world. So the Americans will just have to learn to be more practical rather than inspirational.

So there it is. DFAT has to be more than about transactional business and internal management issues. The portfolio needs to try to persuade the new administration to embrace Australia’s geopolitical vision for the Indo-Pacific region. That’s a challenge.

Alexander Downer was Australia's longest serving foreign minister, from 1996 to 2007, and most recently Australian High Commissioner to the UK.

https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/what-australia-needs-from-the-new-biden-administration-20210121-p56vyj

Bernard Collaery: East Timor spy trial delayed after government refused to let barrister Bret Walker SC join defence team

Bret Walker will represent whistleblower lawyer Bernard Collaery in the East Timor bugging case, despite ‘resistance’ from the government

Government bureaucrats tried to “resist” top barrister, Bret Walker SC, from getting involved in the case of whistleblower Canberra lawyer Bernard Collaery, a court has heard.

Collaery, a Canberra barrister and former politician, will likely face trial on espionage charges late this year or early next year, accused of divulging information to the ABC about a team of Australian spies bugging East Timorese government offices during high-stakes negotiations over lucrative oil and gas fields in the Timor Sea.

The trial has so far been delayed by a so-called “war” between Collaery and the government over whether the trial should be held in open court.

Collaery’s lawyers have unsuccessfully argued that the public and media should be allowed to attend the trial, and are appealing a decision which will see it heard in closed court under national security laws.

The ACT Court of Appeal on Wednesday heard Mr Walker — often described as Australia’s best barrister — bumped into Collaery before Christmas and volunteered to lead the appeal, but lawyers for Commonwealth Attorney-General Christian Porter refused to sign off on him joining the high-powered legal team.

Attorney-General Department bureaucrats have the power to vet defence lawyers working on national security cases because they have access to top secret evidence.

Justice John Burns said on Wednesday: “What really concerns me is the delay in approving Mr Walker as being a member of the defence.

“There seems to be no excuse or explanation.”

Government lawyer Tim Begbie said Collaery already had a strong legal team, including at least four top barristers, and that the appeal hearing would be delayed if Mr Walker joined the team.

Mr Begbie described Collaery’s case on appeal as a “coverall shotgun style appeal” and “not a scalpel”.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions’s barrister, Chris Tran, said his client didn’t want the case delayed any longer and that the appeal was only about whether the trial would take place behind closed doors.

Ken Archer, one of Collaery’s barristers told the court Mr Walker has unmatched expertise in national security laws, having previously been the independent monitor for national security legislation.

“His involvement should be welcomed by the Commonwealth,” he said.

Justice Burns said the appeal “possibly goes to something which is more significant than the charges itself, that is, whether justice is seen to be done by the public”.

The appeal is set to be heard later this year, likely in April.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/canberra-star/bernard-collaery-east-timor-spy-trial-delayed-after-government-refused-to-let-barrister-bret-walker-sc-join-defence-team/news-story/4bec8ed3d457ed2b9b68815e8a26c2b4

Morrison should learn from past for China reset

Global Times - Jan 26, 2021

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Amid strained China-Australia relations, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday he is ready and willing to meet with the top Chinese leader, but only if there are no preconditions to holding the talks. Previously, Dan Tehan, Australia's new trade minister extended an olive branch to his Chinese counterpart, saying he wants "very constructive engagement" with Beijing in a bid to repair worsening China-Australia relationship.

The positive signal from those remarks is that Australia hopes to make a new beginning with China in the new year. However, what is important here is not what Australia has said, but what real actions it will take.

China-Australia relations have fallen off a cliff, reaching the rock bottom since official diplomatic relations were formally established in 1972. The bilateral trade and people exchanges have been impacted severely. But over the past year, we have noticed that some Australian senior officials, including the prime minister, send some signals of hope for dialogue. But at the same time they have been taking actions that have continually hampered China-Australia relations.

Canberra is still stressing that Beijing is to blame for the breakdown of China-Australia relations. On the one hand, Morrison said he is open to talks with Beijing, on the other, he emphasized that he refuses to cede any ground over "Chinese grievances" with Australia in return for restarting diplomatic dialogues. However, the fact is Australia is the culprit for the broken bilateral ties.

Australia was the first country to ban Chinese high-tech company Huawei from the 5G rollout using security as an excuse. It followed the US to declare China's South China Sea claims "illegal," and took the lead to call for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19. These hostile actions toward China have won Australia a label as the vanguard for the US' anti-China campaign.

A long-time diplomatic dilemma facing Australia was how to strike a balance between China, its largest trading partner, and the US, its security ally. But now, Australia regards China's rise its biggest diplomatic challenge. Its diplomatic focus has shifted from maintaining a balance between Beijing and Washington to working far more closely with the US to totally contain China.

Australia's domestic conservative politics have exacerbated the country's hostility toward China. Flourishing right-wing conservative forces, growing domestic populism, and white supremacy have given rise to opportunism in Australian politics. For anti-China politicians, hyping up the "China threat" theory easily attracts public attention. Under such an unhealthy atmosphere, Australia's attitude toward China has deteriorated sharply.

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The prospects for China-Australia relations are bleak. James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, said the problem for Canberra now is that, "relatively simple, low-cost options for resetting the relationship have passed us by."

I agree with his view. But, given the complementarity between China and Australia and the significance of the bilateral relations to each country, it's never too late to start on resetting the ties.

The ball is in Australia's court. The prerequisite for a reset in China-Australia relations is that Australia can take actual steps to promote improvements, stopping provoking and smearing China over a string of issues that concern China's core interests. Only in this case can there be a possibility for a proper reset in the China-Australia relationship.

Whether or not a reset can be materialized is a big test for the Morrison administration. First of all, it tests the Australian government's ability to make deep reflections. In fact, there have been many debates and discussions in Australia over the past year. What are Australia's national interests? Is the current China policy in line with Australia's national interests? The Morrison administration has to make serious self-introspections on these questions.

Second, it tests the Australian government's ability to correct deviations. If Australia wants to adjust its China policy, it will face great pressure from both Washington and domestic conservative forces. Can it withstand the pressure to promote a turnaround in relations with China based on Australia's national interests?

It's normal that there are differences between China and Australia. But the point is whether or not the two countries can communicate again in a proper and pragmatic manner to work together and fix the relationship based on common interests.

Morrison on Monday also said he had consulted former prime ministers John Howard and Kevin Rudd on Australia's strained relationship with China, and he is always "open to those who are experienced in these areas." Howard in December urged Morrison to repair relations with China while Rudd in September criticized the Morrison government's "rolling crises" with Beijing. During their tenures, China-Australia relations also witnessed twists and turns, but both of them managed to steer bilateral relations in the right direction because of their pragmatism.

Morrison should learn from his predecessors. He should learn from them how to promote China-Australia relations with a pragmatic attitude, develop bilateral ties based on national interests and mutual respect, and seek common ground while reserving differences.

The article was compiled based on an interview with Guo Chunmei, an expert on Australian studies with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202101/1213961.shtml

'Conspiracy' claim in Pell contempt case

Karen Sweeney - JANUARY 28 2021

Claims of a "Catholic conspiracy" were partly behind a Melbourne newspaper's decision to publish a story about Cardinal George Pell's child sexual abuse conviction, a court has heard.

The Age newspaper, journalists and editors are facing contempt charges over articles published after Cardinal Pell's now-overturned conviction in December 2018, over alleged breaches of suppression orders.

Australian media were banned from reporting the verdict in the case until February 2019 because Cardinal Pell, who has since returned to Rome, was due to face a second trial.

The Age's then-editor Alex Lavelle, who left the job last year, was called to give evidence in a contempt trial in Victoria's Supreme Court on Thursday.

He defended his decision to publish a story which did not name Cardinal Pell, but made references to the court order prohibiting publication of a story about a "high profile" Australian who had been convicted of unnamed offences.

Lavelle said the decision was in part sparked by readers contacting the paper and reporters questioning why the story was not being run.

The story was published internationally and gained widespread attention on social media.

Among the suggestions was that The Age was choosing not to publish because it was part of a "Catholic conspiracy" to cover up the conviction, the trial before Justice John Dixon heard.

Lavelle said he originally considered running a story on the day of the verdict, but ultimately decided to wait until the news had broken elsewhere.

"My opinion at the time was the news would be published somewhere or spoken about somewhere or leaked out on social media," he said.

That happened overnight and the story was published on December 12.

"It became apparent that it was worth exploring whether we could prepare a story that wasn't going to break any law - suppression or contempt - that would tell the readers why we weren't able to run this story."

Lavelle told the court in his 25-year career as a journalist he had never faced charges for contempt or breaching a suppression order, and that the had a "very low" appetite for taking those sorts of risks.

Ahead of publication he referred to the story in internal emails as "controversial", a remark which he explained on Thursday.

"This was potentially an unprecedented situation where there was a suppression order in place but it was a feeling that the news of the trial would leak out," he said.

The case, which began in April 2019, is continuing.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7103780/conspiracy-claim-in-pell-contempt-case/

>>12705499

Dassi Erlich Tweet

Leifer has arrived in Melbourne.

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1354368033926516736

>>12739668

Malka Leifer lands in Melbourne after extradition from Israel, ahead of court appearance today

Malka Leifer has arrived in Australia after being extradited from Israel.

The former school principal was taken into police custody after being escorted from the plane when it landed in Melbourne, two days after she departed her native Israel on Monday.Ms Leifer will face the Melbourne Magistrates' court today, appearing via WebEx from prison to face more than 70 charges of child sexual abuse after a six-year legal battle to extradite her.

Ms Leifer is accused of sexually abusing three female students at the Adass Israel School in Elsternwick between 2001 and 2008.

In December last year the Supreme Court of Israel signed the extradition order for Ms Leifer to return to Australia when it dismissed her final appeal.

It is understood her return to Melbourne has included stopovers at Hamburg in Germany and Singapore.

She will appear before the Bail and Remand Court in what is expected to be a filing hearing.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/former-school-principal-makes-long-awaited-return-to-melbourne/ed325df8-835b-414d-94be-7781336428a3

>>12739668

Ex-principal Malka Leifer faces court charged with sexually abusing students

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Thirteen years after fleeing Australia over sexual abuse allegations, accused paedophile Malka Leifer stayed silent and still as she appeared before a Melbourne court and her three accusers.

Hours after arriving in Melbourne on Wednesday night following her extradition from Israel, Ms Leifer appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday, resting her head on her arms.

The 54-year-old remained still and silent throughout the 15-minute hearing as she appeared via a video link, sitting at a wide table at North Melbourne police station.

Ms Leifer faces 74 charges comprising 11 counts of rape, 47 of indecent assault, three of sexual penetration of a child and 13 of committing an indecent act with a child.

Her lawyer Tony Hargreaves told the court Ms Leifer had “significant mental health issues” that required medication and asked that she be transferred to prison “as quickly as possible” from the police cells so her mental health could be better treated.

Ms Leifer’s only movement during her hearing, other than to walk in and out of the room, was to hunch forward and rest her head on her arms and hands on the table. She wore a patterned jacket, head covering and face mask and did not say a word.

A police officer standing nearby confirmed they could hear what was being said in court.

The former principal of the Adass Israel School in Elsternwick is accused of sexually abusing three of her then students between 2004 and 2008.

Charge sheets allege most of the offences were committed in Elsternwick, but also in Elwood, Frankston and Emerald and the regional towns of Blampied and Rawson.

Sisters Elly Sapper, Dassi Erlich and Nicole Meyer, the women who allege they were abused as children by Ms Leifer, were among the 30 people watching Thursday’s hearing via video link.

Ms Leifer has long maintained she is innocent.

She fled to Israel in 2008 when the allegations were first aired, but was extradited this week following the decision of the Supreme Court of Israel, which dismissed her final appearance and ordered she return to Australia to face prosecution.

The legal fight to have her return to Australia lasted six years and included more than 70 court hearings in Israel.

Ms Leifer is to remain in custody until her next court appearance on April 9, which is also expected to be held via a video link. She did not apply for bail on Thursday but could do so in the coming weeks.

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Prosecutor Phillip Raimondo said Ms Leifer was charged in 2012. Extradition proceedings began in 2014.

Mr Hargreaves told magistrate Johanna Metcalf that Ms Leifer had “significant mental health issues” that needed medication. He did not detail her mental health issues.

He said a prison would have better facilities to treat Ms Leifer than those available in the police cells.

Mr Hargreaves also said Ms Leifer observed “strict religious beliefs” and asked that arrangements be made for those to be adhered to in prison. It is not yet known when the accused will be transferred to a women’s prison.

All new prisoners in Victorian jails must spend 14 days in quarantine to safeguard against the coronavirus infiltrating the state’s prison system.

The flight Ms Leifer boarded in Israel was one of the last to leave the country before airports closed due to coronavirus restrictions.

Ms Erlich, Ms Sapper and Ms Meyer were heavily involved in the push to have Ms Leifer returned to Melbourne but have not commented on her extradition, other than short statements made by Ms Erlich on Twitter, which said Ms Leifer was on her way back to Australia and had then arrived in Melbourne.

Asked about the case on Thursday morning, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews – who raised the matter with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to Israel in 2017 – said his thoughts were with the alleged victims.

“This is a matter that will very soon be before the Victorian courts and I don’t want to say or do anything that might compromise justice being done,” Mr Andrews said during a press conference.

“My thoughts are with Dassi Erlich and her sisters. They have shown a dignity and courage that is quite amazing. I sent them a message of best wishes this morning and my thoughts are with them today,” he said.

“We all need to be very careful not to say anything that might call into question that process that is now very much on foot.”

Asked about any custody management issues due to Ms Leifer’s extradition from Israel, Mr Andrews said: “I’d have confidence [Corrections Victoria] would put in a very good system to make sure that any person who was being extradited here was not a risk to public health.”

He said he would not comment on a report in The Age that a government-funded chaplaincy organisation would offer religious services to Ms Leifer in custody.

“I’m very, very focused on not saying anything that will jeopardise justice being done,” he said. “A fair process needs to be run.”

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/ex-principal-malka-leifer-faces-court-charged-with-sexually-abusing-students-20210128-p56xev.html

>>12739668

Adass defends response to Leifer fallout

Adass Israel School has defended its response to allegations made against former principal Malka Leifer, now charged with child sexual abuse.

Leifer faced Melbourne Magistrates Court via video link on Thursday after landing back on Australian soil 13 years on from allegedly fleeing to Israel.

She did not apply for bail and is due to face court again, also via video link, on April 9 for a committal mention. She has previously denied all allegations.

Leifer, escorted by Victoria Police, completed the final leg of her extradition from Israel on Wednesday night.

She touched down at Melbourne airport aboard a commercial flight from Singapore at 8.44pm and was taken into 14-day quarantine.

Adass principal and chief executive officer Aaron Strasser defended the school's response to allegations originally made against Leifer in 2008 in a staff letter this week, seen by AAP.

Mr Strasser said Adass reached out to former students in Australia, Israel and the US and organised an evening in each locale with a mental health professional.

He also recognised Leifer's presence in Australia "may evoke a range of reactions" for the school community, with further support being offered to former students and parents.

"We want to assure you that Adass Israel School fully supports the legal process in place and will do all that is requested by authorities to assist in the processing of this case," Mr Strasser said in the letter.

Adass president Benjamin Koppel said student safety and wellbeing was the school's highest priority and responsibility.

"We have zero tolerance for abuse of any kind," Mr Koppel said in a statement to AAP on Thursday.

"While this case is currently before the courts, we are unable to comment specifically on the allegations or the details of the case at hand."

Wednesday's flight was the final leg of Leifer's extradition, long-awaited by Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper, who filed police reports in 2011 after she allegedly abused them.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday said the three sisters and former Adass students had shown a "dignity and courage" that was "quite amazing".

He said he had sent a text of best wishes to the sisters on Thursday morning.

Mr Andrews also said he was confident Corrections Victoria had a system in place to ensure Leifer does not pose a public health risk.

Australia's Attorney-General Christian Porter noted Leifer's arrival marked the end of a long and complicated legal battle.

It began with her boarding a Frankfurt-bound plane at Tel Aviv on Monday, just hours before the closure of Israel's airports due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Pictures published by local media showed Leifer about to board the flight wearing handcuffs and legcuffs.

Israel's Supreme Court approved her extradition order in December and Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn approved the order the following day.

Leifer's final failed appeal followed 74 hearings in Israeli courts, which were drawn out on the basis of her claims of mental illness.

After fleeing Australia in 2008, she was first arrested in Israel in 2014 only to be freed from house arrest on the condition she undertook psychiatric assessments.

An independent undercover investigation proved Leifer was feigning mental illness and she was re-arrested in 2018.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7102971/adass-defends-response-to-leifer-fallout/

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell Forced Young Girls Into an Orgy: Court Records

A witness “watched Maxwell direct a room full of underage girls to kiss, dance, and touch one another in a sexual way for [her] and Epstein to watch,” newly unsealed documents say.

Katie Baker and Allison Quinn - Jan. 28, 2021

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Jeffrey Epstein’s accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell forced young girls into an orgy while she and Epstein watched, according to newly unsealed documents that detail how the British socialite allegedly recruited underage girls to provide sexual favors for the pedophile financier.

A witness to the depraved activity “testified that he watched Maxwell direct a room full of underage girls to kiss, dance, and touch one another in a sexual way for [her] and Epstein to watch,” the records state. The same unnamed man “was in tears as he recounted [Maxwell] bringing a 15-year-old girl to his employer’s home who, in utmost distress, told him that [Maxwell] stole the young girl’s passport and tried to make her have sex with Epstein and then threatened her.”

The disturbing allegations emerged in thousands of court documents that were unsealed in a lawsuit against Maxwell by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who says the duo loaned her out for sex with powerful men, including Britain’s Prince Andrew. (Maxwell and Andrew have denied her claims. Epstein killed himself in jail in 2019 after being charged with crimes related to the sex trafficking of minors.) The lawsuit was settled in 2017, and a court has since ordered the release of many of the documents under seal, despite Maxwell’s protestations.

The British heiress was nabbed by the FBI in July 2020 while laying low at a swanky New Hampshire hidey-hole and is awaiting trial for having allegedly facilitated Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring.

The unsealed documents paint a portrait of Maxwell at the center of Epstein’s web of abuse. A second witness testified that Maxwell had “recruited her from her school campus to have sex with Epstein with lies about being her personal assistant.” Another testified that Maxwell would “call him and ask him to bring over young girls that she would provide to Epstein.” And two other witnesses—who were subpoenaed by Maxwell for her own defense—ended up giving testimony to support Giuffre, with one stating “he witnessed [Maxwell] escort young girls he brought over to Epstein’s home to Epstein for sex acts and… that [Maxwell] called him on the phone, asking him to bring over girls to Epstein’s home.”

Lawyers for Giuffre insisted this testimony was a smoking gun pointing to Maxwell’s central role in Epstein’s underage sex ring. “It is not just the flight logs showing Defendant flying with Epstein and Ms. Giuffre over twenty times when she was a minor; it is not just the message pads from law enforcement's trash pulls that show Defendant arranging to have an underage girl come over to Epstein's house for “training,” it is not just the police report; it is not just the photographs of [Maxwell] and other men with Ms. Giuffre when she was a minor,” Giuffre’s team wrote. “Now, there is actual, live testimonial evidence that [Maxwell] was a procurer of young girls for sex with Jeffrey Epstein, with whom she shared a home and a life, thus validating Ms. Giuffre’s claims.”

(continued)

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Giuffre has long claimed that Maxwell was central to her introduction to Epstein and other powerful men in his orbit. Maxwell allegedly recruited her to give “massages” to the financier while Giuffre was working at Mar-a-Lago, and a photo of Giuffre with Prince Andrew—the royal grinning as he cradled the girl’s waist—also showed Maxwell smiling in the background. (Maxwell, whose father was a British publishing magnate, knew Andrew socially and introduced Epstein to her glittering circle of elite connections when they started dating in the early 1990s.)

“Ghislaine Maxwell brought me into the sex trafficking industry,” Giuffre asserted during her deposition in the lawsuit. “She’s the one who abused me on a regular basis. She’s the one that procured me, told me what to do, trained me as a sex slave, abused me physically, abused me mentally. She’s the one who I believe, in my heart of hearts, deserves to come forward and have justice happen to her more than anybody. Being a woman, it’s disgusting.”

Giuffre also testified that she had begged an FBI agent to return to her any photos or video recordings of her that the agency had collected in its investigation of Epstein in the late 2000s—emailing the agent to ask him to “assist our case further in [proving] how much pedophilia occurred by Jeffrey and the many other monsters he obliged with underage girls.”

After Giuffre’s bombshell allegations about Prince Andrew first appeared in the press, she says Maxwell launched a smear campaign against her. In a motion for a protective order to keep police reports disseminated by Maxwell confidential, Giuffre claimed that Maxwell “somehow came into possession of police reports depicting the crime of rape [by other, non-related attackers] committed against Ms. Giuffre when she was fourteen years old.” Giuffre claims Maxwell attempted “to twist and contort the facts in these police reports to tell the public that Ms. Giuffre ‘cried rape’ as a fourteen-year-old.” Giuffre asserted that she never went to police about that rape and that “instead, the police came to her based on their investigation and the accounts of third-parties.” Maxwell “is trying to further wound Ms. Giuffre, simply because the sexual crimes committed against her as a child,” the documents state.

The filing includes a screenshot of an email sent to Maxwell in 2015, from a sender whose name is redacted. The email, with the subject line “VR cried rape,” contains the very brief message: “Some helpful leakage…” The filing goes on to accuse both Maxwell and Epstein’s lawyer Alan Dershowitz of “planning another media blitz in an attempt to discredit and defame Ms. Giuffre” and says Maxwell was “teaming up” with Dershowitz in a “frantic attempt” to discredit Giuffre and “humiliate her family.” (Giuffre has also accused Dershowitz of sexually abusing her; he has denied the claims.)

Indeed, in other court records, Maxwell went out of her way to slam Giuffre as “a liar, a person who falsifies claims of sexual assault, and a sexually permissive woman… [with] substantial mental and medical conditions.”

(continued)

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Maxwell denied that she had ever hired underage girls for massages for Epstein, claiming in her own deposition that she “on occasion met with adult, professional women and men who were employed at high-end spas or resorts and asked whether they made home visits for the purpose of massages.” She testified that she did not recall “the names of those persons who ended up making professional, adult home visit massages that occurred between the years 2000 and 2002… Ms. Maxwell has contacted a number of professional masseuses from spas in various locations, including New York, Palm Beach, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to provide professional, adult massages to be given to Jeffrey Epstein.”

The socialite also claimed that she had never “to her knowledge” recruited, hired, or obtained any female “who was not at the time a certified or licensed massage therapist for the purpose of having that female perform a massage on Jeffrey Epstein,” nor recruited or obtained “girls to meet with, or show themselves, to Jeffrey Epstein because he was in some way associated with Victoria’s Secret.”

Epstein’s main client as a financial adviser was Leslie Wexner, mogul of the parent company that owned Victoria’s Secret, and Epstein’s victims have claimed he promised them high-profile modeling gigs as he groomed them for abuse.

The modeling agency also cropped up in testimony from retired Palm Beach detective Joseph Recarey, who was one of the earliest officials to pursue the case against Epstein. In his deposition, Recarey noted that he’d interviewed some 30-33 girls recruited to give massages at Epstein’s Florida mansion, the majority of whom were under 18.

“Each of the victims that went to the home were asked to bring their friends to the home,” Recarey testified. “Some complied and some didn’t.” He added that Epstein’s assistants would call and arrange for the girls to come over to give the massages. When asked to confirm that Epstein was running a scheme by using his assistants to recruit girls under the pretense of giving a massage, Recarey replied, “Correct. Either a [massage] and/or become a model for Victoria’s Secrets and/or connections.”

“Did you ever trace all the way up to the highest level to determine who was it that started this particular chain of Palm Beach girls coming over to Jeffrey Epstein’s home?” Giuffre’s lawyer asked the detective. “I did not,” he replied.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epstein-and-ghislaine-maxwell-forced-young-girls-into-an-orgy-court-records-say

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4355835/giuffre-v-maxwell/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706.1201.22_1.pdf

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706.1198.3_3.pdf

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706.1198.7.pdf

>>12739668

We won’t bail out sex case principal Malka Leifer: Adass community

One of the most senior figures in Melbourne’s Adass community has denied funding the legal ­defence of accused pedophile Malka Leifer, as calls mount for the ultra-Orthodox school to ­explain its role in her escape from Australia 13 years ago.

President of the Adass Israel Congregation and Adass Israel school board member Benjamin Koppel told The Weekend Australian on Friday that the ultra-orthodox community was “definitely not” paying the former principal’s legal fees.

“Never had, never will,” he said.

Ms Leifer faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday, charged with more than 70 counts of sexual abuse, 11 of them rape. She did not apply for bail.

The former Adass principal is represented by high-price ­defence barrister Tony Hargreaves, who did not return The Weekend Australian’s calls on Friday.

Her arrival in Australia on Wednesday night represented a win for her accusers — sisters Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper — who fought a decade-long battle for her to be extradited from Israel.

Abuse survivor advocate Manny Waks said the reality of the extradition had taken days to sink in but the Adass Israel School still had questions to answer over its role in Ms Leifer’s late-night escape from Australia in 2008.

“There is also the Adass Israel leadership, who have steadfastly refused to publicly apologise for their part, for their role in facilitating Malka Leifer’s escape from justice,” he said from Israel.

“If they had done the right thing and gone to the police when the allegations surfaced in 2008, we would not be where we are today.

“Those sisters would not have had to be re-traumatised by going through an entire extradition process.”

The 54-year-old principal fled Melbourne with four of her eight children hours after a crisis meeting of school board representatives agreed to pay her airfare to Israel knowing of complaints that she had sexually abused nine girls. The allegations were not reported to police.

Victorian Supreme Court judge Jack Rush found in a scathing 2015 civil trial judgment that the Adass Israel School board had sought to cover up her alleged wrongdoing, finding its conduct demonstrated “a complete disregard” for Ms Leifer’s alleged victims and a “disdain for due process of criminal investigation”.

A spokesman for Adass declined to comment as the matter was before the courts, referring to a previous statement that said they were fully supportive of the legal processes in place.

Mount Scopus Memorial College rabbi James Kennard has long supported the sisters and said he believed questions lingered over Ms Leifer’s exit from Australia.

“I think there are questions that must be answered around how and why she was allowed to leave in the way that she left and, yes, there are questions the school must answer,” he said.

Ms Leifer fought against returning to Australian after the government applied for her extradition in 2014. She was declared mentally unfit to face trial in 2016 but was captured on video by private investigators living a normal life in 2017.

Ms Leifer will appear via video link at Melbourne Magistrates Court on April 9 for a committal mention, where she is expected to enter a plea.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/we-wont-bail-out-sex-case-principal-malka-leifer-adass-community/news-story/6dd3795083363ef9a835c01ed423b816

Afghan henchman ‘used ADF troops’, says Dutch journalist

AMANDA HODGE - JANUARY 29, 2021

The Australian military’s heavy reliance for its intelligence in ­Afghanistan on a notorious strongman led to “unnecessary killings” that should be scrutinised in a broader review that goes beyond the scope of the Brereton ­inquiry, a former Afghanistan-based investigative journalist says.

Dutch academic Bette Dam, a veteran Afghan war correspondent and author, says while the Brereton report last November focused on the actions of “rogue special forces soldiers”, the Australian Defence Force went into Oruzgan not understanding the complex tribal rivalries that led some leaders to denounce others as Taliban.

“By elevating strongmen with vested interests, their intelligence was compromised from the start,” she writes in The Weekend Australian. “They (ADF) allowed themselves to be used by local ­allies, who competed with each other for Western military resources to empower themselves as tribal leaders. Some then used those resources to target their rivals.”

The man responsible for much of the false intelligence was ­Matiullah Khan, Oruzgan’s police commander and a local strongman who — thanks to international intervention — became a powerful and wealthy political player.

“Anyone not with him was an enemy, and he labelled all his ­enemies Taliban,” Ms Dam says of the former strongman who was assassinated 15 months after Australian troops pulled out of Oruzgan in December 2013.

“This dangerous man — ­notorious for having tied a man with rope to the back of a car and dragging him around until he died — was ingrained in local deals and local rivalries.

‘‘He was the nephew and henchman of the former governor. And he was Australia’s main ally in Oruzgan.”

Despite his notoriety, Khan is not mentioned in the Brereton ­report, which probed alleged war crimes by the Special Air Service, specifically the murders of 39 non-combatants in ­Afghanistan whose deaths were filed under “Taliban” in field reports.

Yet he was considered a key ally of the ADF during its time in Oruzgan, as his dead uncle and ­former Oruzgan governor Jan Mohammad had been of American forces.

Ms Dam, who teaches at the prestigious Sciences Po in Paris, says, both men routinely directed Australian and US forces against their rivals — not the Taliban but tribesmen from ­Barakzai and Achekzai, Hotak and Tokhi.

“Today, those leaders are Taliban and their areas are Taliban strongholds,” she says.

Australian soldiers were not the only ones accused of failing to verify intelligence received from local sources in Afghanistan before acting on it with often deadly force.

In May 2009, Australian-born lawyer and UN special rapporteur Philip Alston wrote that international troops were frequently failing to crosscheck ­information, and that he had been told by many Afghan government officials that false tips had often led to the killing of innocent civilians in targeted night raids.

Counter-intelligence was not listened to, as Justice Paul Brereton also noted in his report. ­Afghans who complained were discharged as unreliable.

“Most Australian soldiers, no doubt, believed they were killing diehard Taliban”, and not tribesmen who had been antagonised by the sitting Afghan government and the US,’’ Ms Dam says.

She admits the media was also often blinded by the “master narrative” of the war on terror.

She cites mass reporting of the “first Taliban attack on a UN convoy” in 2007, which turned out to be a false-flag attack organised by a local ally, Asadullah Khalid, to prevent the destruction of his poppy fields.

Khalid is now Afghanistan’s Defence Minister.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/afghan-henchman-used-adf-troops-says-dutch-journalist/news-story/dc752c0becc00b5b397cd3bc4d775285

>>12759698

How flawed information created a ‘Taliban’ threat

BETTE DAM - JANUARY 30, 2021

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When is a Taliban not a Taliban? In Oruzgan, where Australian troops served from 2006 to 2013, it was when false intelligence led to avoidable killings.

Australia is investigating alleged war crimes by the Special Air Service, specifically the murders of 39 clear non-combatants in Afghanistan whose deaths were filed under “Taliban” in field reports that too often went unchecked.

The crimes the Brereton inquiry discovered deserve the full glare of legal scrutiny. But a broader review of Australian operations is also warranted because the Australian Defence Force’s reliance on dubious intelligence sources in Oruzgan led to unnecessary killings too.

The Australians were often informed by local allies with vested interests. Counter-intelligence was not listened to, as Justice Paul Brereton also noted in his report. Afghans who complained were discharged as unreliable.

The man responsible for much of this false intelligence was Matiullah Khan, Oruzgan’s police commander and a local strongman who — thanks to international intervention — became a powerful and wealthy political player.

Anyone not with him was an enemy, and he labelled all his enemies Taliban.

This dangerous man — notorious for having tied a man with rope to the back of a car and dragging him around until he died — was ingrained in local deals and local rivalries. He was the nephew and henchman of the former governor.

And he was Australia’s main ally in Oruzgan.

Brereton doesn’t mention this cruel right arm of the special forces in his report, but to understand where the ADF mission veered from the on-the-ground realities in what became Australia’s longest war, it helps to put his role in the larger context of the war.

The US special forces were the first to arrive in Oruzgan after 9/11 and they backed the local governor, Matiullah’s uncle Jan Mohammad Khan, who used his time in power to install allies from his Popalzai tribe in positions across the province’s 10 districts.

The US assumed, since it was paying for these men’s loyalty, that they shared the same ideology: to kill the terrorists or Taliban.

But was that so?

Australian diplomat Fred Smith, who spent several years working in Oruzgan, wrote in his book The Dust of Oruzgan of a conversation with two so-called local “Taliban” who explained to him that “there was no Taliban in the area in 2002”.

In those early years “everyone wanted to join the government”, one of the men recounted. “We even gave up our weapons. But then the government turned people into Taliban. In the second year of Jan Mohammad Khan, my nephew was killed by a police commander.”

That didn’t only happen in Oruzgan. It is still not widely understood that in the first years after 9/11 most of the Afghan Taliban — including their leadership — had left the battlefield and were looking to surrender.

This potential end to the war was ignored by the US, which viewed al-Qa’ida and the Taliban as similar threats, and the storyline was soon dropped by the media. Instead of using diplomacy to set-up an inclusive government, the US and its allies sent troops.

(continued)

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But who did the international troops fight if there was no Taliban?

The US government, and later, the Australians were ill-prepared for the reality behind the “War on Terror”, or the ulterior motives of some they chose to work with, for whom helping coalition forces came a poor second to tribal and sub-tribal affiliations.

They allowed themselves to be used by local allies, who competed with each other for Western military resources to empower themselves as tribal leaders. Some then used those resources to target their rivals.

America’s chief ally in Oruzgan, Jan Mohammad, directed US forces against his rivals — not the Taliban but tribesmen mostly from Barakzai and Achekzai, Hotak and Tokhi. Australia’s ally, Matiullah, did the same thing.

Today, those leaders are now Taliban and their areas are Taliban strongholds.

Deedee Derksen, a former journalist and now consultant for the US Institute for Peace who reported widely from Oruzgan as a journalist and later as a PhD candidate, described the coalition-backed Oruzgan government as “exclusive, predatory and operating with impunity thanks to the support of foreign forces”. Like Smith, Derksen said its actions drove much of the local support for the expanding insurgency in the province after 2004.

The Taliban that eventually re-emerged in Oruzgan weren’t diehard anti-Westerners but locals with tribal grievances who shifted loyalties to latent Taliban commanders to avenge the antagonisms of the provincial strong­men.

When Australian troops arrived in Oruzgan in 2006 with a mission to build security by fighting the Taliban, what the Australian government didn’t say was that they were stepping into the outcome of a neglected local peace effort that had descended into revenge attacks and blood killings.

Most Australian soldiers, no doubt, believed they were killing diehard Taliban that had been antagonised by the sitting Afghan government and the US. One example was that of an Australian commando-led operation in Sorgh Morghab in 2009. Six members of an extended family — including five children — were killed because Australian intelligence was flawed. The wrong man in the wrong house and wrong village was targeted.

One of the only survivors of the Sorgh Morghab incident — Shapiro — told me her husband raised his gun in self-defence and shot at what he believed was a gang of rivals. The SAS soldiers were sure they were being shot at by Taliban so responded with grenades, killing the man.

How many other Afghans died in similar circumstances, whose deaths were filed under Taliban?

This case did not make it into the Brereton report that focused on the killing of non-combatants, a clear war crime. But not checking the intelligence as an intervening country is a grave mistake.

In May 2009, UN special rapporteur Philip Alston, an Australian-born lawyer, wrote that international troops were frequently failing to cross-check information, and that he had been told by numerous Afghan government officials that false tips had often led to the killing of innocent civilians in targeted night raids.

(continued)

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In 2010, US Major-General Michael Flynn, then NATO’s top military intelligence officer in Afghanistan, said allied intelligence officers were operating in an information vacuum, were ignorant of local dynamics and were “unable to answer fundamental questions about the environment in which US and allied forces operate’’.

But those warnings were soft voices in the loud international war against the terrorists.

Once Matiullah became police chief, allegations of people being killed or tortured in the custody of Afghan National Police and Afghan Local Police commanders (Matiullah’s men) were numerous.

On one civilian flight from Tarin Kowt, a coalition forces translator showed me pictures on his phone of one dead body after another. They were taken after fights conducted by Australian and American soldiers with Matiullah’s men.

I asked him about rumours of a mass grave in Shah Wali Kot that occurred in roughly the same area as the famous Battle of Tizak fought by Australians and Matiullah’s men. “How do you know? I can’t talk about Shah Wali Kowt,” he responded nervously. He was amazed I had heard of it. In such remote locations it was relatively easy to keep operations quiet.

When I asked Matiullah about the massacre, he admitted at least 40 boys and men were buried there. “Taliban, man, those guys were all Taliban!” he said.

Australia was hardly the only force to make such mistakes in Afghanistan. In 2002, the US tortured to death taxi driver Delawar after a local ally falsely reported him as Taliban to shift responsibility for an attack the ally had himself organised.

The media also was trapped in the master narrative of a “war against the Taliban”. News organisations reported the “first Taliban attack on a UN convoy” in 2007, only for it to emerge later that the attack was a false flag organised by a local ally, Asadullah Khalid, to prevent the destruction of his poppy fields, but framed as a Taliban strike. Khalid is now Afghanistan’s Defence Minister.

Australian forces went into Oruzgan not fully understanding this situation. By elevating strongmen with vested interests, their intelligence was compromised from the start.

To avoid similar mistakes in the future, a broader review should occur that goes beyond the acts of rogue special forces soldiers to the root of the mission they were sent to achieve.

I would be happy to assist, and I know dozens of Afghans and foreign experts who were active in the field and are ready to set the history record straight. It would be good for future wars if someone would try.

With Amanda Hodge

Bette Dam is a former Afghanistan war correspondent and the author of a book on Taliban commander Mullah Omar: In Search of the Enemy, and on former Afghan president and Oruzgan tribal leader Hamid Karzai. She is a PhD candidate at Vrije University in Brussels and a teacher at Sciences Po in Paris.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/how-flawed-information-created-a-taliban-threat/news-story/b31d76e3b613d227917dd3793568d5b0

>>12739668

‘She took them into her home’: Leifer chaplain knew alleged victims

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A woman appointed by the Victorian government to provide religious counselling to accused paedophile Malka Leifer while she is in custody has been removed after it was revealed she knew two of Ms Leifer’s alleged victims.

Sources close to the alleged victims have told The Age that the chaplain, Shani Aron, has been stood aside by Corrections Victoria following complaints from members of the Jewish community over a perceived conflict of interest.

The revelations raise serious questions over how Corrections Victoria’s vetting process allowed Ms Aron, a member of the ultra-orthodox Yeshivah community, to take on the role, which would have involved regular meetings with Ms Leifer in prison.

Ms Leifer fled Australia in 2008 after sisters Elly Sapper, Dassi Erlich and Nicole Meyer accused their then teacher of sexually abusing them at the ultra-orthodox Adass Israel school between 2004 and 2008.

The Age can now reveal that Ms Aron’s husband, Raphael Aron, offered two of the alleged victims counselling services in the years after Ms Leifer allegedly sexually assaulted them.

After the regular counselling sessions, the girls would join the Aron family for dinner.

“Shani took these girls into her home,” said one source close to the victims, but who asked not to be named.

“They were distraught and felt betrayed by Shani; they had a close relationship.”

Following 13 years of campaigning, Ms Leifer was extradited from Israel this week, landed in Melbourne on Wednesday evening and faced court on Thursday on 74 charges including rape, indecent assault, sexual penetration of a child and committing an indecent act with a child.

Ms Leifer, who has long maintained she is innocent, did not apply for bail and will remain in custody until her next court appearance on April 9.

Like every prisoner in Victoria, Ms Leifer is entitled to chaplaincy support while in custody.

Ms Aron was this week approved via Corrections Victoria and the Jewish Prison Chaplaincy Victoria, a government-funded charity, to be Ms Leifer’s chaplain.

Members of Melbourne’s Jewish community voiced concerns that Jewish Prison Chaplaincy Victoria is led by Benjamin Koppel, the president of the Adass community that Ms Leifer was a part of when she fled Australia in 2008.

In response to questions on Wednesday a spokeswoman for Corrections Victoria, a government department, said it had “clear policies” that prevented conflicts of interest for chaplains.

“Any suggestion that Corrections Victoria does not undertake due diligence in relation to these services is refuted in the strongest terms,” the spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

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Manny Waks, a long-time advocate and friend of the three victims, said he was shocked Ms Aron had accepted the role as Ms Leifer’s chaplain, and that she was allowed to, after one of the sisters spent years regularly visiting Ms Aron’s home.

“It’s simply outrageous in my opinion,” Mr Waks told The Age.

“For me it’s also a broader reflection on the complexities in addressing sexual abuse within small communities. There are countless conflicts of interest because people know each other, and authorities should be aware of that.”

In response to questions, Ms Aron said in a text message: “I do not have a relationship with any of the three sisters involved in this matter.

“My husband’s professional work is confidential. I am not privy to the identity of his clients nor any dealings he has with them. For any further questions regarding my appointment, please contact Corrections Victoria.”

The ultra-orthodox Adass community comprises about 150 families in Melbourne’s south east, where Ms Leifer was principal of the Adass Israel School. Ms Aron and her husband are part of the Yeshivah community, a similarly ultra-orthodox group with some links to the Adass community.

Corrections Victoria started reviewing Ms Aron’s appointment only after The Age’s reporting and members of the Jewish community voiced concerns. She was removed from the position as chaplain on Friday.

Corrections Victoria “does not discuss individual cases and has nothing to add at this time”, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

Opposition corrections spokesman David Southwick said “the Andrews government must ensure every aspect of this case is handled appropriately”.

Dr Michelle Meyer, an executive member of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, said she was pleased Corrections Victoria had reviewed Ms Aron’s appointment.

“We prioritise child protection and in this situation we raised concerns with members of Jewish Prison Chaplaincy Victoria. They were very receptive to our concerns that there was a conflict of interest,” Dr Meyer said.

The difficulties of a tight-knit, ultra-orthodox group were illustrated on Friday when Adass Israel school was force to backtrack on a letter to community members encouraging them to seek help from a psychologist who is likely to be called to give evidence in Ms Leifer’s trial.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.

https://www.1800respect.org.au

https://www.lifeline.org.au

https://www.beyondblue.org.au

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/she-took-them-into-her-home-leifer-chaplain-knew-alleged-victims-20210129-p56xuq.html

Some QAnon Supporters Checked By Reality Seek A Way Out

“Hi my name is Joe,” one man wrote on a Q recovery channel in Telegram. “And I’m a recovering QAnoner.”

David Klepper - 01/28/2021

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Ceally Smith spent a year down the rabbit hole of QAnon, devoting more and more time to researching and discussing the conspiracy theory online. Eventually it consumed her, and she wanted out.

She broke up with the boyfriend who recruited her into the movement, took six months off social media, and turned to therapy and yoga.

“I was like: I can’t live this way. I’m a single mom, working, going to school and doing the best for my children,” said Smith, 32, of Kansas City, Missouri. “I personally didn’t have the bandwidth to do this and show up for my children. Even if it was all true, I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

More than a week after Donald Trump departed the White House, shattering their hopes that he would expose the worldwide cabal, some QAnon adherents have concocted ever more elaborate stories to keep their faith alive. But others like Smith are turning to therapy and online support groups to talk about the damage done when beliefs collide with reality.

The QAnon conspiracy theory emerged on fringe internet message boards in 2017. At root, the movement claims Trump is waging a secret battle against the “deep state” and a sect of powerful devil-worshipping pedophiles who dominate Hollywood, big business, the media and government.

It is named after Q, an anonymous poster who believers claim has top-secret government clearance and whose posts are taken as predictions about “the plan” and the coming “storm” and “great awakening” in which evil will be defeated.

It’s not clear exactly how many people believe some or all of the narrative, but backers of the movement were vocal in their support for Trump and helped fuel the insurrectionists who overran the U.S. Capitol this month. QAnon is also growing in popularity overseas.

Former believers interviewed by The Associated Press liken the process of leaving QAnon to kicking a drug addiction. QAnon, they say, offers simple explanations for a complicated world and creates an online community that provides escape and even friendship.

Smith’s then-boyfriend introduced her to QAnon. It was all he could talk about, she said. At first she was skeptical, but she became convinced after the death of financier Jeffrey Epstein while in federal custody facing pedophilia charges. Officials debunked theories that he was murdered, but to Smith and other QAnon supporters, his suicide while facing child sex charges was too much to accept.

Soon, Smith was spending more time on fringe websites and on social media, reading and posting about the conspiracy theory. She said she fell for QAnon content that presented no evidence, no counter arguments, and yet was all too convincing.

“We as a society need to start teaching our kids to ask: Where is this information coming from? Can I trust it?” she said. “Anyone can cut and paste anything.”

After a year, Smith wanted out, suffocated by dark prophesies that were taking up more and more of her time, leaving her terrified.

Her then-boyfriend saw her decision to move on from QAnon as a betrayal. She said she no longer believes in the theory, and wanted to share her story in the hopes it would help others.

“I was one of those people too,” she said of QAnon and its grip. “I came out on the other end because I wanted to feel better.”

(continued)

>>12760466

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Another ex-believer, Jitarth Jadeja, created a Reddit forum called QAnon Casualties to help others like him, as well as the relatives of people still consumed by the theory. Membership has doubled in recent weeks to more than 114,000 members. Three new moderators had to be added just to keep up.

“They are our friends and family,” said Jadeja, of Sydney, Australia. “It’s not about who is right or who is wrong. I’m here to preach empathy, for the normal people, the good people who got brainwashed by this death cult.”

His advice to those fleeing QAnon? Get off social media, take deep breaths, and pour that energy and internet time into local volunteering.

Michael Frink is a Mississippi computer engineer who now moderates a QAnon recovery channel on the social media platform Telegram. He said that while mocking the group has never been more popular online, it will only further alienate people.

Frink said he never believed in the QAnon theory but sympathizes with those who did.

“I think after the inauguration a lot of them realized they’ve been taken for a ride,” he said. “These are human beings. If you have a loved one who is in it: make sure they know they are loved.”

QAnon supporters are likely to respond in three general ways as reality undermines their beliefs, according to Ziv Cohen, a forensic psychiatrist and expert on extremist beliefs at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University.

Those who only dabbled in the conspiracy theory may shrug and move on, Cohen said. At the other extreme, some militant believers may migrate to radical anti-government groups and plot potentially violent crimes. Indeed, some QAnon believers have already done so.

In the middle, he said, are the many followers who looked to QAnon “to help them make sense of the world, to help them feel a sense of control.” These people may simply revise QAnon’s elastic narrative to fit reality, rather than face up to being hoodwinked.

“This isn’t about critical thinking, of having a hypothesis and using facts to support it,” Cohen said of QAnon believers. “They have a need for these beliefs, and if you take that away, because the storm did not happen, they could just move the goal posts.”

Some now say Trump’s loss was always part of the plan, or that he secretly remains president, or even that Joe Biden’s inauguration was created using special effects or body doubles. They insist that Trump will prevail, and powerful figures in politics, business and the media will be tried and possibly executed on live television, according to recent social media posts.

“Everyone will be arrested soon. Confirmed information,” read a post viewed 130,000 times this week on Great Awakening, a popular QAnon channel on Telegram. “From the very beginning I said it would happen.”

But a different tone is emerging in the spaces created for those who have heard enough.

“Hi my name is Joe,” one man wrote on a Q recovery channel in Telegram. “And I’m a recovering QAnoner.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/qanon-supporters-seek-a-way-out_n_60134b1fc5b63b0fb27f57d0

Notables

are not endorsements

#12 - Part 1

2020 US Presidential Election - Australian Perspectives - Part 1

>>12098003 The damage Donald Trump is doing may never be undone - Troy Bramston - theaustralian.com.au

>>12264082 2021 can be a year of recovery for US now Trump is gone - Peter van Onselen - theaustralian.com.au

>>12273003 The burger bromance between Donald Trump and 'Australian tabloid wizard' Col Allan, former editor of the New York Post

>>12303833 Christopher Pyne: Vital US ambassador must be bold - 'one of the most crucial roles Joe Biden will appoint for Australia'

>>12305407 Ugliest spectacle of Trump era looms - Cameron Stewart - theaustralian.com.au

>>12305994 Ten former Pentagon chiefs warn Donald Trump against involving military in pursuing election fraud claims - abc.net.au

>>12306000 All 10 living former defense secretaries: Involving the military in election disputes would cross into dangerous territory - washingtonpost.com

>>12340388 Video: US President Donald Trump hopeful Vice President Mike Pence will overturn election result - Sky News Australia

>>12362727 Twitter locks Trump, Facebook pulls video - Elizabeth Culliford - thewest.com.au

>>12363833 Video: Fox News Senior Political Analyst Brit Hume: Republicans have 'deserted the President' en masse - Sky News Australia

>>12363862 Video: World leaders respond to violent scenes at the US Capitol - Sky News Australia

>>12363958 Prime Minister Scott Morrison Tweet: Very distressing scenes at the US Congress. We condemn these acts of violence and look forward to a peaceful transfer of Government to the newly elected administration in the great American democratic tradition.

>>12363958 Malcolm Turnbull Tweet: Today’s mob violence at the Capitol is the culmination of Trump’s sustained assault on American democracy. The President should call on the mob he incited to disperse and go home. And Trump’s supporters in the GOP and the media should reflect on what they have enabled.

>>12363958 Kevin Rudd Tweet: This is a physical attack on the institutions of democracy by a far right mob.All because of extremist statements by political leaders attacking the legal results of a democratic election,echoed faithfully by a cancerous far right media.This affects us all

>>12364272 Alexander Downer Tweet: @realDonaldTrump behaviour since the election cost the Republicans control of the Senate as I predicted.

>>12365577 Video: Scott Morrison - 'I'm not here to offer a running commentary on what should be happening in the United States.' - 'Australia's a free country.' - 'There's such a thing as freedom of speech in this country. And that will continue.'

>>12366319 Foreign Minister Marise Payne Tweet: Very concerned by scenes at the US Congress. I condemn any violence to interfere with democratic processes

>>12366319 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: Let us swiftly bring justice to the criminals who engaged in this rioting.

>>12370152 Australian national flag spotted among the crowd of Trump protesters that stormed the US Capitol - Alana Mazzoni - dailymail.co.uk

>>12370400 Why The Australian Flag Was Flown By Pro-Trump Rioters Who Stormed The US Capitol - Carly Williams - huffingtonpost.com.au

>>12370833 Mehreen Faruqi Tweet: Why is a violent far-right mob flying the Australian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol?

>>12370888 How Australia Helped Pave The Way For The US Insurrection - Cam Wilson - gizmodo.com.au

>>12371401 Australian Labor Tweet: It's the company you keep. (Donald Trump and Scott Morrison photo)

>>12371401 Joel Fitzgibbon Tweet: I’m a proud member of the Labor Party and remain committed to its ideals and objectives but I do not want to be associated with this tweet

>>12393689 Bizarre moment crowd of protesters waving American flags march down a street in MELBOURNE chanting 'Donald Trump, four more years' as chaos breaks out in Washington DC - Charlotte Karp - dailymail.co.uk

>>12393716 Why were the Capitol rioters so angry? Because they’re scared of losing grip on their perverse idea of democracy - Jordan McSwiney - theconversation.com

>>12393756 'We want blood': How warnings of the Washington riot had been circulating online for weeks - Rashida Yosufzai - sbs.com.au

>>12393910 Victorian Liberal MP Bernie Finn posts Trump election conspiracy theories to Facebook - Elias Clure - abc.net.au

>>12393996 Video: Victorian Liberals condemn pro-Trump conspiracy theories posted by colleague Bernie Finn

>>12394209 Video: Joe Biden certified by Congress as next United States president after deadly riot in Capitol

#12 - Part 2

2020 US Presidential Election - Australian Perspectives - Part 2

>>12394298 Video: Trump commits to an orderly transition of power - Sky News Australia

>>12394486 George Christensen Is Openly Peddling MAGA Bullshit & Scott Morrison Is Refusing To Intervene - David Adams - pedestrian.tv

>>12394540 Morrison needs to counter Australian and American disinformation too - Anthony Galloway - smh.com.au

>>12394706 Video: OPINION: There's a lot of blame to go around for the chaos in the Capitol, but some belongs to Australia - Emma Shortis - smh.com.au

>>12394863 Trump proves he was never fit to rule - His populist quest is ending in ruin - Paul Kelly - theaustralian.com.au

>>12394918 Donald Trump lit fuse to a riot and burned down his house - Cameron Stewart - theaustralian.com.au

>>12395712 Video: Alexander Downer: Both sides should 'calm down' and 'move on' following Trump's election concession - Sky News Australia

>>12395753 Video: Malcolm Turnbull says US Capitol violence 'incited by the president' who has 'sought to exacerbate and exploit divisions' - Natalie Oliveri - 9news.com.au

>>12395767 Video: Bill Shorten - Trump "told the American citizens and his supporters that the election was stolen from him. It was not."

>>12396075, >>12396094 Video: Soon, like a miracle, toxic Donald Trump will disappear - Jack The Insider (Peter Hoysted) - theaustralian.com.au

>>12408871 Bill Shorten Tweet: Looking forward to President-Elect Joe Biden returning dignity and altruism to liberal democracy

>>12409733 @realDonaldTrump - Account suspended - Twitter suspends accounts which violate the Twitter Rules

>>12409733 Q Post #4414 - EAM LOYALISTS: RED1: POTUS twitter removal

>>12410594 Video: Donald Trump's Twitter account 'permanently suspended'- Olivana Lathouris, Nick Pearson - 9news.com.au

>>12412908 Miranda Devine Tweet: Inevitable. She and her mate Lin should stop spouting Qanonsense and get off social media

>>12412908 Dominion sues Trump lawyer Sidney Powell for defamation, seeks $1.3 billion - Kevin Collier - nbcnews.com

>>12412908 Miranda Devine Tweet: You have to get your facts straight and not promise a “Kraken” that never eventuates

>>12412908 Miranda Devine Tweet: With the damage Q has done to MAGA I would not be surprised if the Lincoln Project or some equally malevolent anti-Trump group were behind its recent incarnation

>>12413284 Twitter permanently suspends US President Donald Trump - Sky News Australia

>>12414979 Shem Horne Tweet: Internet Archive of POTUS Tweet thread Twitter just deleted grab it and spread it far and wide

>>12414979 President Trump @POTUS Tweet Archive: As I have been saying for a long time, Twitter has gone further and further in banning free speech

>>12415634 Suspended Twitter Accounts - @KillAuDeepState, @awakeinaus_, @1_Drop_Of_Q, @QTheWakeUp, @SeekretAgent

>>12417065 OPINION: From QAnon to climate denial, Australia has a ‘Ratbag Government’ - Michael Pascoe - thenewdaily.com.au

>>12418007 OPINION: Australia is not an island when it comes to the forces that fostered Trump - Sean Kelly - theage.com.au

>>12418060 OPINION: US on hold as deranged President makes unpredictable decisions - Geoffrey Robertson - theage.com.au

>>12421761 Obituary: RIP @realDonaldTrump, gone but not forgotten after 57,000 tweets - Aamer Madhani and Jill Colvin - theage.com.au

>>12421815, >>12421979 Video: Donald Trump’s Final Days - Wall Street Journal Editorial Board - theaustralian.com.au

>>12440436 Video: Democrats drafting articles to impeach Donald Trump - Cameron Stewart - theaustralian.com.au

>>12459203 Pelosi: House 'will proceed' to impeachment of Trump - Darlene Superville, Alan Fram and Mary Clare Jalonick - theage.com.au

>>12459400 Why Democrats should think twice before impeaching Donald Trump - Cameron Stewart - theaustralian.com.au

>>12459794 Arnold Schwarzenegger compares Capitol attack to Nazi Germany - AFP - theaustralian.com.au

#12 - Part 3

2020 US Presidential Election - Australian Perspectives - Part 3

>>12459794 Arnold Schwarzenegger Tweet: My message to my fellow Americans and friends around the world following this week's attack on the Capitol

>>12459879 Acting PM Michael McCormack pans Big Tech for banning Trump - Daniel McCulloch - thewest.com.au

>>12477018 'QAnon Shaman' demanding organic food in jail after US Capitol arrest - 9News Staff - 9news.com.au

>>12477449 OPINION: Sydney MP Craig Kelly's job is to represent Hughes but he's pushing manic fringe craziness instead - Jenna Price - smh.com.au

>>12477533 Murdoch cannot whitewash his role in the most destructive presidency in US history - Kevin Rudd - crikey.com.au

>>12477633 Opinion: Australian conservatives go to extraordinary lengths to deny the reality of rightwing extremism - Jeff Sparrow - theguardian.com

>>12477873 Alexander Downer Tweet: It seems very unwise for US Democrats to fuel divisions already exacerbated by president Trump. @JoeBiden is right not to endorse impeachment. Time for healing

>>12477893 Opinion: For the real threat to democracy look to China, not the US - Alexander Downer - afr.com

>>12478312 Rupert Murdoch's Fox News pushed and extolled the presidency of Donald Trump. It must now be brought to account - Malcolm Turnbull - crikey.com.au

>>12478538 Bill Shorten Tweet: The Trump v. Twitter stoush is a good reminder that not everything you read on the internet is true - 'QAnon conspiracy rubbish'

>>12512347 Second impeachment may be least of Trump’s problems post-presidency - Peter van Onselen - theaustralian.com.au

>>12512436 Opinion: Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack has started limply echoing racists by saying ‘all lives matter’ - Tory Shepherd - adelaidenow.com.au

>>12513009 Video: Pompeo is laying ‘landmines’ in U.S.-China relations before Biden takes office: former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

>>12517142 Video: Google 'experiment', where it buried selected news articles, was 'clearly a threat' to Australian media - Sky News Australia

>>12521162 Google ‘Experiment’ Hid Some News Sources from Consumers - breitbart.com

>>12530158 US Capitol rioter Jacob Chansley asks for presidential pardon, saying he was 'answering the call' of Donald Trump - abc.net.au

>>12530507 Generations will discuss Trump’s descent into madness - Cameron Stewart - theaustralian.com.au

>>12544304 Trump and his legacy 'diminished' among Australian conservatives - David Crowe - theage.com.au

>>12545789 New president Joe Biden will be a true-blue mate in the White House - Adam Creighton - theaustralian.com.au

>>12546017 Trump deserves ‘maximum constitutional condemnation’ as the republic’s future is at stake - Troy Bramston - theaustralian.com.au

>>12546025 Q Post #22 - Who controls the NG? What former President used the military to save the republic and what occurred exactly?

>>12558907 US Capitol rioter Jacob Chansley detained pending trial as prosecutors back away from 'kill-capture' plot claim - Reuters/ABC - abc.net.au

>>12560099 Video: Trump's Twitter ban 'won't necessarily last forever' - Sky News Australia

>>12560442 Is Morrison ready for a Biden administration? - Anthony Galloway - brisbanetimes.com.au

>>12578795 Video: Trump 'not mortally wounded' from election defeat - Sky News Australia

>>12579024 Joe Biden's inauguration explained : What time it will be on in Australia and how to watch - Stuart Marsh - 9news.com.au

>>12599336 Prime Minister Scott Morrison talks with Pence, Pompeo but not Trump - Anthony Galloway - smh.com.au

>>12607310 Labor leader Anthony Albanese accuses PM Scott Morrison of sucking up to Donald Trump along with “fringe dwellers” and “Trumpists” in his ranks

>>12622687 ‘Battle-hardened’ Trump supporters may pose continued threat as Australia warned to be vigilant - Charis Chang - news.com.au

>>12623985 Inauguration Day livestreams - PBS NewsHour, NBC News, Washington Post, ABC News (USA) and ABC News Channel (Australia)

>>12645550 Prime Minister Scott Morrison Tweet: Congratulations to President @JoeBiden and Vice President @KamalaHarris on your inauguration.

>>12645550 Foreign Minister Marise Payne Tweet: Congratulations President @JoeBiden & Vice President @KamalaHarris on an historic day.

>>12645587 Scott Morrison welcomes new leadership of President Joe Biden, as Opposition figures condemn outgoing president Donald Trump - David Adams - businessinsider.com.au

#12 - Part 4

2020 US Presidential Election - Australian Perspectives - Part 4

>>12645615 Scott Morrison defends relationship with Donald Trump, accuses Labor of replacing foreign policy with personal attacks - Adeshola Ore - theaustralian.com.au

>>12645642 Video: Australia’s Ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos has praised Joe Biden’s “pitch perfect” inauguration and continued pressure on China - Sarah Blake - dailytelegraph.com.au

>>12645940 A ‘last outpost for Trumpism’: How did Donald change #AusPol? - Josh Butler - thenewdaily.com.au

>>12645998 Video: Trump Sought to Exacerbate Divisions in U.S.: Turnbull - Bloomberg Politics

>>12646051 Video: The idea Trump and his tweets incited insurrection is ‘demonstrably false’ - Sky News Australia

>>12646106 Video: 'Worst president in history': John Bolton describes Donald Trump's leadership | Planet America - ABC News In-depth

>>12646209 UK High Commissioner George Brandis Tweet: Brilliant to see @POTUS return the United States to the #ParisAgreement

>>12646266 Arnold Schwarzenegger Tweet: I’m rooting for you @JoeBiden. Your success is the country’s success

>>12662443 Bill Shorten Tweet: What a difference a day makes (President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris Twitter screencaps)

>>12662454 Bob Carr Tweet: Like a majority of Republicans Joe Hockey believes there was vote fraud. Said it publicly. Oops! Bad move for a fledgling lobbyist wanting access to a Democrat administration.

>>12662454 Bob Carr Tweet: Now in Nine Media Joe struggles to make good but the new Democrat team weren’t impressed with his crawling to the Ancien Regime now unpacking candlesticks and golf clubs at Mar-a-Largo.

>>12662478 America's silo society has to face its racial demons - Bob Carr - afr.com

>>12662525 Kevin Rudd Tweet: Biden’s team inherits a bucket full of foreign policy wreckage - in declining American power, weaker alliances and a damaged domestic body politic. But with strong and steady leadership, effective strategic competition with Beijing is achievable.

>>12664164 Alexander Downer Tweet: After 4 1/2 years of reading on Twitter crazy conspiracy theories about me being a spy and how I was part of a treasonous attempted coup against president Trump and I would be hanged or sent to Gitmo, I guess that’s coming to an end!

>>12664225 Video: Biden ‘should stop’ Trump’s impeachment to unite America: Alexander Downer - Sky News Australia

>>12664403 Chief Minister Michael Gunner extends official invite to US President Joe Biden to visit the NT - Madura Mccormack - ntnews.com.au

>>12664814 Video: Trump was a 'demagogue president' and 'sociopath', says former FBI director Comey | 7.30 - ABC News In-depth

>>12680534 Kevin Rudd Tweet: Unbelievable that Murdoch media would publish this outrageous cartoon of President Biden calling him “Creepy Joe” - and for what reason? Then suggesting he’s controlled by a non-existent organisation - “Antifa”. All QAnon crap. #MurdochRoyalCommission

>>12704138 As Joe Biden says, this great US-Australia alliance will only grow stronger - Foreign Minister Marise Payne

>>12712187 Use Biden agenda to commit to net zero: Malcolm Turnbull

>>12713842 Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor talks emissions with John Kerry

>>12714605 Kevin Rudd and Bob Carr hail Joe Biden as climate change President

>>12728346 Opinion: What Australia needs from the new Biden administration - Alexander Downer - afr.com

#12 - Part 5

Australian Politics and Society - Part 1

>>12126886 President Trump awards Scott Morrison prestigious US military decoration - The Legion of Merit for 'leadership in addressing global challenges'

>>12126886 Arthur Sinodinos Tweet: Honoured to accept US Legion of Merit awarded by @realDonaldTrump to @ScottMorrisonMP recognising the Prime Minister’s leadership that “strengthened the partnership between the United States and Australia in addressing global challenges and promoting collective security”

>>12126886 National Security Council Tweet: “President @realDonaldTrump awarded the Legion of Merit to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his leadership in addressing global challenges and promoting collective security. Ambassador @A_Sinodinos accepted the medal on behalf of PM Morrison.” – NSA Robert C. O’Brien

>>12142993 52-year-old Perth man charged with advocating terrorism via online video-sharing platform, allegedly called for acts of politically-motivated violence offshore

>>12147097 Online powers to silence the trolls - eSafety Commissioner to be given new powers to order social media platforms to remove harmful online adult abuse

>>12147153 Australian Signals Directorate working with government departments and agencies to assess whether their networks have been breached by SolarWinds Russian hacking offensive

>>12166767 US Embassy Canberra Tweet: "Along with my staff at the U.S. Embassy and Consulates General across Australia, I wish you a safe, happy, and prosperous New Year." - Ambassador Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr.

>>12166823 Video: Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivers 2020 Christmas message - 7NEWS Australia

>>12201498 Q Research General #15562 Notables - Australia goes to bread 12 - Congrats Mates!

>>12201788 Federal inquiry into far-right groups opens a Pandora’s box - 'It will give them the opportunity to publicly air their narrative'

>>12249500 Video: Promise of COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 headlines New Year's message from Scott Morrison

>>12259861 PDF: Declassified Cabinet papers reveal Howard government's concerns about an independent East Timor

>>12261174 Video: Historic change to Advance Australia Fair, Australia's national anthem, in the 'spirit of unity'

>>12271841 Outgoing US ambassador Arthur Culvahouse takes parting shot at China

>>12271854 Pi Kappa Alpha Tweet: From 1987-89, A.B. Culvahouse (@utkpikes '67) served as Counsel to President Ronald Reagan

>>12273156 Video: ASIO and the battle against foreign interference - How foreign intelligence services identify targets in Australia

>>12273527 ASIO: Universities targeted by foreign actors - Researchers and families threatened, coerced or intimidated

>>12273527 Inquiry into National Security Risks affecting the Australian Higher Education and Research sector - Submissions

>>12341574 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: Our friendship with Australia has flourished. An unbreakable alliance. Thanks for the mateship, @MarisePayne!

>>12341574 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: U.S., Australia and Japan are working together to give Pacific Islands the chance to partner with free nations, not Communist China

>>12364617 Kylie Moore-Gilbert posts photo with Iranian ex-detainees - 'no drones were harmed in the taking of this picture'

>>12421546 Morrison Government launches five-year plan to put Australia at the forefront of the battle to eradicate modern slavery

>>12460327 Many Australians might think that slavery never reached our shores. The history books tell a different story. What did slavery look like in Australia?

>>12461191 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: The Five Eyes partnership is stronger than ever. @FP_Champagne, @DominicRaab, @MarisePayne, @winstonpeters = force multipliers for freedom

#12 - Part 6

Australian Politics and Society - Part 2

>>12461191 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: #EffectiveMultilateralism means a reinvigorated Quad: like-minded values-based partnership among the U.S., Australia, India, and Japan

>>12461191 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: Thanks to our Quad diplomacy, India invited Australia to its annual Malabar exercises in the Indian Ocean. Would've been unthinkable only a year ago

>>12461567 Tom Hanks recalls the Australian creature that terrified him during filming in Queensland - Natacha Maloon - celebrity.nine.com.au

>>12461589 Video: Tom Hanks Takes "The Colbert Questionert" - The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

>>12496290 U.S. moves on setting up key multimillion dollar military fuel storage facility in Darwin

>>12496290 U.S. Department of Defense - Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) - Request For Information - Fuel Operations Support in the Port of Darwin, Australia

>>12500560 Video: Australian man arrested in Germany, accused of running 'DarkMarket' - world's biggest darknet marketplace

>>12512775 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: We helped create the International Maritime Security Construct & #CTFSentinel to secure the Strait of Hormuz & Persian Gulf from Iran's illegal acts

>>12512775 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: Thank you Bahrain, UK, Albania, Lithuania, Australia, UAE & KSA for protecting one of the world's most critical shipping lanes from Iranian #PiratesOfHormuz

>>12544620, >>12544668 Video: What is a darknet store and why are people who run them so hard to catch? - abc.net.au

>>12560775 Former Army officer working for ADF intelligence unit suicides in car park of Army headquarters in Canberra

>>12585813 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: You can't make good policy without good people. #PersonnelIsPolicy

>>12585813 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: Honored to speak with @ScottMorrisonMP about the unbreakable bond between our two countries and reviewing all that we have accomplished

>>12623338 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: Successful diplomacy means fostering close relationships with our partners, not just flying in and flying out to rack up air miles and stats. Blessed to call so many friends.

>>12663791 Video: Murdoch Watch - Fox News & the Amplification of Conspiracies Surrounding the Death of Seth Rich - Kevin Rudd

>>12664013 Video: ‘It’s a reality:’ Google threatens to stop search in Australia due to media code

>>12688030 Julie Bishop, Donald Trump's daughter, and the Australian Government's three-year fight for secrecy - Dan Conifer and Michael McKinnon - abc.net.au

>>12688373 AFP executes search warrants in Queensland after the takedown of the world's largest illegal dark web marketplace - 'DarkMarket'

>>12712168 Australia Day honours: Former PM Malcolm Turnbull’s ‘significant contributions’ duly recognised

>>12716336 Controversy as Noosa Satanists celebrate what they say is 'an important win for religious freedom' - Essam Al-Ghalib - sbs.com.au

>>12716336 Q Post #3931 - This is not about politics. Something far more sinister [evil] has been allowed to flourish through all parts of our society.

>>12728366 Bernard Collaery: East Timor spy trial delayed after government refused to let barrister Bret Walker SC join defence team

#12 - Part 7

Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry

>>12113707 Ben Roberts-Smith pictured cheering soldiers drinking from the prosthetic leg of a man he shot

>>12249390 Australia's war crimes commanders to soon learn their fate

>>12272708 Soldier drinking from dead Taliban fighter's prosthetic leg exposed as highly-respected senior officer, featured in recent article on 'good soldiering'

>>12704226 Special Forces soldiers issued “show cause” notice in the wake of war crime allegations will submit defence on why they shouldn’t be sacked from the military

>>12759698 Afghan henchman ‘used ADF troops’, says Dutch journalist Bette Dam

>>12759711 How flawed information created a ‘Taliban’ threat - Bette Dam - theaustralian.com.au

#12 - Part 8

Dassi Erlich Tweets and Malka Leifer Extradition

>>12173622 Malka Leifer is due to be extradited from Israel to Australia, but how do you do do that during the COVID-19 pandemic?

>>12705499 Accused sex predator principal Malka Leifer extradited to Australia

>>12705544 Israel extradites Malka Lefier, wanted for sex crimes, to Australia

>>12705574 Malka Leifer extradited to Australia to face child sexual abuse charges

>>12705589 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Leifer is on the way back to Australia. #leiferonthewayback

>>12727992 Former Victorian attorney-general Martin Pakula says he is "very pleased" Malka Leifer will soon face an Australian court.

>>12728054 Video: Former Adass Israel School board president ‘can’t recall helping Malka Leifer flee’

>>12739668 Dassi Erlich Tweet: Leifer has arrived in Melbourne.

>>12739687 Video: Malka Leifer lands in Melbourne after extradition from Israel, ahead of court appearance today

>>12739702 Ex-principal Malka Leifer faces court charged with sexually abusing students

>>12739732 Adass Israel School defends response to Leifer fallout

>>12759610 We won’t bail out sex case principal Malka Leifer: Adass community

>>12760280 ‘She took them into her home’: Leifer chaplain knew alleged victims

#12 - Part 9

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic, Australia and Worldwide

>>12114182 Scathing hotel quarantine report exposes failures by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, ministers and public servants

>>12114198 PDF: Victorian COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry - Final Report and Recommendations - Volumes 1 and 2

>>12118382 More transmissible strain of COVID-19 brought into Australia by UK travellers, NSW Health has confirmed

>>12143488 Facebook permanently removes Pete Evans' page after he repeatedly breached misinformation policies with posts about the coronavirus

>>12154945 Video: Australia signs deals to distribute tens of millions of coronavirus vaccine doses around the country

>>12155727 Video: Lieutenant General Frewen - COVID-19 Taskforce message - Department of Defence Australia

>>12202375 International celebrities still call Australia home after COVID closed borders - Tom Hanks, Zac Efron, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, Mark Wahlberg

>>12202755 Canberra considers axing Victorian government research agreement with China's Jiangsu province

>>12203088 Chinese trade sanctions continue - Beijing bans timber from NSW and Western Australia claiming it had found “live forest pests” in earlier shipments

>>12219435 Video: First case of 'more contagious' South African coronavirus strain detected in Australia

>>12233968 Video: Greg Norman praises Donald Trump, Scott Morrison after detailing harrowing COVID-19 battle

>>12322724 Scott Morrison: Anthony Albanese’s demand for rapid rollout of COVID vaccine ‘very dangerous’

>>12367956 Scott Morrison: COVID-19 vaccination on track to start in February

>>12408044 Kylie Moore-Gilbert Tweet: Rev guards’ obsession with peddling conspiracy theories starts at the very top. Supreme leader bans entry of UK and US-made covid vaccines, because he “doesn’t trust them”

>>12408044 Kylie Moore-Gilbert Tweet: There’s no need for a vaccine at all really, as this covid thing’s just a conspiracy

>>12422286 Video: Brisbane Police crack down on residents not wearing masks on their way to illegal protest in CBD

>>12439588 Liberal MP Craig Kelly attacks Facebook for warning him over unproven Covid treatment post

>>12439937 Monica Smit and 'Reignite Democracy Australia' - How an anti-mask firebrand fans the right's flames against Dan Andrews online

>>12494947 Malcolm Turnbull slams Scott Morrison for failing to take tough line with MPs promoting “dangerous” crackpot COVID-19 cures

>>12495681 Video: Pete Evans’ podcast dumped from Spotify for spreading misinformation about coronavirus

#12 - Part 10

George Papadopoulos Tweets, Alexander Downer and SPYGATE Revelations

>>12087817 Materials released today prove that the “investigations” were launched earlier than July 2016

>>12087817 It’s time to declassify the information on Australia’s role in sending in informants and operatives before the investigation “launch date.”

>>12087847 PDF: FBI Was Investigating Trump Earlier Than It Let On, according to newly released text messages from Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok

>>12142551 President Donald Trump grants full pardon to Russia probe aide George Papadopoulos

>>12142565 Thank you, Mr. President!!! This means the world to me and my family!

>>12142565 Thank you all for your support! Has been overwhelming. Very grateful

>>12142565 There was one person who stood through it all with me until the end, my @simonamangiante. I love you!

>>12142565 Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos Tweet: I must confess I am crying right now. We were right since day one. The best Christmas present ever ! Thank you

>>12539059 Breaking: the President will have all declassified Obamagate files released to the American public as early as tomorrow

>>12539059 I have been contacted by media of 7 different countries for comment on the impending declassification

>>12540178 Video: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham releases Russia probe docs, slams original investigation as 'incompetent, corrupt'

>>12540206, >>12540246 Judiciary Committee Releases Transcripts of Interviews Conducted During Oversight of Crossfire Hurricane Investigation

#12 - Part 11

Child Exploitation, Pedophilia, Sexual Abuse and Human Trafficking Investigations

>>12087393 Catholic Church loses appeal over 1996 sexual abuse settlement with victim of pedophile priest Daniel Hourigan

>>12114142 Kyle Daniels: Jury dismissed after failing to reach a verdict on most child sex abuse charges faced by Mosman swim coach

>>12129141 Five Malaysian men detained as ABF target foreign worker exploitation in Perth construction industry

>>12129207 First person charged with possessing childlike sex doll in SA, James David Ryan Sharp, pleads guilty to multiple child sex offences

>>12142762 Catholic Church's insurance company in financial trouble over abuse payouts

>>12162897 Hillsong Church slammed for mentioning pervs — but not Jesus — in Christmas email, instead 'clarifying' details about pedophile Frank Houston's child abuse

>>12305780 Football NSW and Presbyterian Church of WA among 135 new institutions to register for the National Redress Scheme

>>12305780 National Redress Scheme - Helping people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse gain access to counselling, a direct personal response, and a Redress payment

>>12367369 Hillsong Dallas pastors Reed and Jess Bogard resign - helped establish Hillsong NYC with disgraced former Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz

>>12421546 Morrison Government launches five-year plan to put Australia at the forefront of the battle to eradicate modern slavery

>>12440940 Kenja Communications refuses to join National Redress Scheme for victims of child sexual abuse

>>12460029 eSafety Commission - Investigators tasked with viewing the 'worst aspects of humanity'

>>12512886 Nicolas Pierre Faivre, charged with sending sex message to a child on Pinterest, worked as a 000 operator

>>12512886 (2017) Keeping the faith: religious diversity in Australia photo essay - Nicolas Faivre - Leura Church of Latter Day Saints

>>12530250 Video: Operation Arkstone update: Sydney man arrested in large-scale investigation into an online network of child sex offenders

>>12543925 Australian companies warned about doing business in China's Xinjiang - 'forced labour and arbitrary detention'

>>12545028 Victoria Police launch specialist unit to infiltrate gaming chat rooms to stop paedophiles grooming kids online

>>12579726 Australian man, Adam James Fox, flees child sexual abuse charges in Thailand, denies guilt

>>12600224 Video: Former Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson dies two years after cleared of concealing child sex abuse

>>12647031 Sex abuse victim of Father Bertram Adderley speaks out after Perth Catholic church consents to pay $2.45m compensation - Keane Bourke and Amelia Searson - abc.net.au

>>12664655 Operation Arkstone: Man who sparked nationwide arrests Justin Radford pleads guilty to child abuse

>>12709747 Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Australian Federal Police identify 245 victims of child exploitation by predator posing as popular YouTube star

>>12711553 October 2020 - Anger as offender Muhammad Zain Ul Abideen Rasheed back on the streets after bail granted

>>12711575 January 2021 - Muhammad Zain Ul Abideen Rasheed back in court today after allegedly sextorting 245 victims

>>12711960 Video: 'I lost my virginity to a paedophile': Australian of the Year and rape survivor Grace Tame's powerful speech

>>12712039 Video: Sexual assault survivor and advocate Grace Tame named 2021 Australian of the Year - ABC News

>>12728282 Cambodian children abused by paedophile Geoffrey Moyle could receive compensation

#12 - Part 12

Cardinal George Pell, Cardinal Angelo Becciu and Vatican Financial Scandal Allegations

>>12096762 Why Cardinal Pell’s prison diaries are an inspiring read - Piers Akerman - dailytelegraph.com.au

>>12113376 Cardinal Pell claims public opinion turned against him because of his 'conservative views'

>>12113376 BBC Radio 4: Cardinal Pell's prison journal - The man who was once the third most powerful person in the Catholic Church reflects on his time in jail

>>12142216 The Vatican and associated entities have transferred $2.3bn to Australia since 2014 without the knowledge of senior Australian Catholic Church leaders

>>12142255 Cardinal Pell: Why God’s providence will prevail - Cardinal George Pell - Angelus News

>>12210640 Pope Francis formally strips Vatican Secretariat of State of assets and real estate holdings following mis-management of hundreds of millions of euros

>>12210640 Apostolic Letter in the form of a "Motu Proprio" from the Supreme Pontiff Francis concerning certain competences in economic and financial matters

>>12210640 Communiqué of the Holy See Press Office on the Motu Proprio “A better organization”, 28.12.2020

>>12233266 Australian Catholic Bishops consider direct request to Pope: Explain how $2.3bn was transferred from Vatican City to Australia over 6 years without our knowledge

>>12233374 George Pell vindicated by Vatican finances clean-up - Tess Livingstone - theaustralian.com.au

>>12261248 Vatican says $2.3 billion transferred to Australia 'like science fiction' - 'We don't have that kind of money…I am absolutely stunned'

>>12272002 George Pell’s Vatican money trail investigation hits home - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>12295959 Transfer of $2.3bn to Australia from Vatican - ‘Cipher accounts’ hijack Holy See’s good name - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>12296038 Australian Bishops want answers from Austrac, Australia’s international financial watchdog - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>12361909 Vatican debunks $2.3bn Austrac transfer allegation - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>12500806 Our $2bn Vatican mistake: Austrac tells Senate it over-estimated bank transfers from Vatican to Australia by more than $2bn - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>12517095 Holy See Communiqué, 13.01.2021 - 'The Holy See acknowledges the results of the audit requested by the Holy See, carried out jointly by ASIF and AUSTRAC'

>>12530042 Cardinal Pell: 'Clear headed' women will help 'sentimental males' clean up Vatican finances - Hannah Brockhaus - catholicnewsagency.com

>>12530066 Austrac’s reputation harmed by $2bn Vatican discrepancy, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells says - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>12544001 Cardinal Pell: Vatican financial reform making progress - Junno Arocho Esteves - catholicregister.org

>>12578596 Questions over the Vatican’s $1.1 million cash transfer to Australia remain unsolved - Anthony Dowsley and Mark Buttler - heraldsun.com.au

>>12621873 Vatican cash probe exposes $2m gap in travel, wage and pension payments from Vatican to Australia since 2014 - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>12739329 Claims of "Catholic conspiracy" partly behind The Age newspaper's decision to publish story about Cardinal George Pell's child sexual abuse conviction

#12 - Part 13

Australia / China Tensions - Part 1

>>12076653 Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discuss China’s ‘escalating threats’

>>12076653 US Department of State - Press Readout - Secretary Pompeo’s Call with Australian Foreign Minister Payne

>>12076658 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: The U.S.-Australia Alliance is strong and our collective work in the Quad is increasingly critical

>>12076658 Foreign Minister Marise Payne Tweet: My friend @SecPompeo has been a vital partner to Australia as we have addressed the challenges across our region

>>12090253 Video: Kevin Rudd hosts Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in an online forum, Australia warned to not become part of US-led "coalition against China"

>>12090289 Video: China: State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, introduced by Asia Society Policy Institute President Kevin Rudd

>>12113891 Yang Hengjun - Australian writer detained in Beijing has trial delayed by three months

>>12166590 Accused Chinese spy, Di Sanh (Sunny) Duong, slapped with harsh bail conditions, banned from contacting any foreign intelligence agencies or elected officials

>>12188234 Mike Pompeo Tweet: Tonight, we’re freely worshiping Jesus Christ and drinking Australian wine — two things that the CCP does not allow #FightForFreedom

>>12189244 Q Research General #15562: Jesus Christ and Australian Wine Edition - https://8kun.top/qresearch/res/12188633.html

>>12190547 Australia fights back against China to build relationship with East Timor

>>12234671 Taiwanese MP Wang Ting-yu calls for enhanced cooperation with Australia in face of Chinese aggression

>>12234681 Unwise for Australia to play ‘Taiwan card’ - Xu Shanpin - globaltimes.cn

>>12249109 China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi wants Australia relationship back on track 'as early as possible'

>>12258893 China Daily editorial: Canberra going further on the wrong track - Pressure on State of Victoria to cancel cooperation program with China's Jiangsu province

>>12271841 Outgoing US ambassador Arthur Culvahouse takes parting shot at China

>>12304790 ASIO red-flags Liberal Party donor Huifeng 'Haha' Liu over foreign interference risks

>>12339676 Victorian Liberal MP Gladys Liu the target of foreign interference plot - Di Sanh Duong charged with attempting to influence Liberal Party figures

>>12339752 World’s eyes on Australia to see if we can resist China - Clive Hamilton - theaustralian.com.au

>>12341574 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet: U.S., Australia and Japan are working together to give Pacific Islands the chance to partner with free nations, not Communist China

>>12366671 Australia 'not for turning' in dispute with China, UK envoy George Brandis says

>>12366808 An Australia-UK deal will turbocharge our economies - George Brandis - telegraph.co.uk

#12 - Part 14

Australia / China Tensions - Part 2

>>12366988 Australia says China should allow in World Health Organization Covid investigators 'without delay'

>>12367636 Australia needs to recalibrate its China policy to optimize national interests - Tian Jingling - globaltimes.cn

>>12439410 Foreign Minister Marise Payne’s Beijing blast after arrests of 55 Hong Kong activists

>>12439410 Joint statement on arrests in Hong Kong - Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States

>>12476959 China’s tells Five Eyes nations to stop ‘intervening’ in Hong Kong affairs

>>12476959 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on January 11, 2021

>>12477893 Opinion: For the real threat to democracy look to China, not the US - Alexander Downer - afr.com

>>12478426 National security concerns thwart Chinese takeover bid for major Australian builder Probuild

>>12482499 Beijing accuses Australia of politicizing business as Chinese bid for major builder is blocked for 'security concerns'

>>12482499 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on January 12, 2021

>>12495517 The secret plan for countering China: Trump should have followed his own strategy - Anthony Galloway - smh.com.au

>>12495543 PDF: The United States Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific (2018) - Declassified U.S. National Security Council document

>>12513009 Video: Pompeo is laying ‘landmines’ in U.S.-China relations before Biden takes office: former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

>>12543925 Australian companies warned about doing business in China's Xinjiang - 'forced labour and arbitrary detention'

>>12645737 Australia should seek policy autonomy, free of US directives - globaltimes.cn

>>12645819 Will specter of Trumpism haunt Morrison? - Chen Hong - globaltimes.cn

>>12663105 Family of imprisoned Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong ‘flees to Australia’

>>12663221 Australia's human rights problem may lead to another 'Floyd tragedy': expert - Xu Keyue - globaltimes.cn

>>12663237 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Regular Press Conference on January 21, 2021

>>12703964 China talks only if there are no conditions, Scott Morrison says

>>12728411 Morrison should learn from past for China reset - globaltimes.cn

#12 - Part 15

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell

>>12088267 PDF: US prosecutors say former Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell does not deserve bail

>>12088267 PDF: Statement of Annie Farmer in opposition to the Defendant’s renewed motion for bail - 'I believe that she is a psychopath'

>>12088511 Modeling agent Jean Luc Brunel arrested in Paris in Epstein probe

>>12088511 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Thankful for all the authorities who helped in amass take down the top tier of the sex trafficking ring ran by Epstein, Maxwell & Brunel

>>12088511 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: It was great working with the French authorities to help take down JLB- This piggy will roll over on EVERYONE to save his own bacon

>>12088511 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: I appeal for our survivor sisters in France, Spain, Brazil & Eastern Europe to come forward. You will not be alone. We are stronger together

>>12113825 'CLEARLY A WITNESS' - French investigators want to quiz Prince Andrew after charging modelling boss Jean-Luc Brunel with abusing girls

>>12160813 Kevin Spacey's 2020 Christmas video - 1-800 XMAS - 1-800-273-8255 - Suicide Prevention Hotline

>>12166696 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Merry Christmas to all, may your day be filled with love, laughter and wine lol #MerryChristmas2020

>>12219001 Ghislaine Maxwell denied bail by U.S. judge despite proposed $28.5 million bail package - 'the Defendant poses a flight risk and pre-trial detention continues to be warranted'

>>12219109 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Ghislaine Maxwell is sensibly kept under lock & key behind bars, where she belongs

>>12219109 Ghislaine Maxwell, accused of helping Jeffery Epstein groom girls, denied bail in New York despite bail package offer

>>12234171 Geraldo Rivera Tweet: Bullshit She’s denied bail because the judge is afraid of the NYPost

>>12234171 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Shame on you @GeraldoRivera - when you say something stupid like that you are spitting in the face of the countless victims who have spent the last 2 decades trying to hold #GhislaineMaxwell accountable!

>>12249361 Unsealed bail document reveals extent of judge's distrust of Ghislaine Maxwell - 'Your lack of candor only solidifies the risk of you fleeing'

>>12255850 Lin Wood Tweet: I am fully aware of the onslaught of attacks being made against me based on my revelations about Chief Justice John Roberts. Before attacking me, maybe fair-minded people would first ask Roberts to tell the truth. Or ask Jeffrey Epstein. He is alive.

>>12304027 'My accuser has her eye on Jeffrey Epstein payout' - Ghislaine Maxwell launches “vicious” attack on Annie Farmer

>>12340879 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: AG Bill Barr questioned Epstein’s cellmate after suicide: Will we ever know what happened?

>>12340879 Attorney General William Barr personally questioned Jeffrey Epstein’s cellmate after his suicide: source

>>12365187 Prince Andrew's birthday bell ringing tribute cancelled due to COVID - Westminster Abbey avoids a post-Jeffrey Epstein scandal

>>12418233 PDF: Ghislaine Maxwell might make third bid for bail with “even more stringent and restrictive” conditions, lawyers say

>>12440182 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: I’m just 1 person my daughter says to me innocently. I tell her the smallest stone can make the biggest ripples in a pond

>>12496115 PDF: Ghislaine Maxwell appeals bail rejection in US case

>>12540708 Leslie Wexner, L Brands Board sued for Epstein ties, harassment culture in shareholder lawsuit

>>12540708 PDF: Lambrecht v. Wexner - Delaware Chancery Court - No. 2021-0029, complaint filed 1/13/21

>>12561565 Duke and Duchess of York's closest advisers sought help from online troll, Molly Skye Brown, in an attempt to discredit the Duke's sex accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre

>>12622819 Federal judge orders unsealing and release of dozens of documents in now-settled civil suit involving Ghislaine Maxwell

>>12622910 Ghislaine Maxwell court hearing disrupted by apparent QAnon followers - Victoria Bekiempis - theguardian.com

>>12677517 Pilot David Rodgers 'flew Prince Andrew in Epstein's private jet' and 'sex slave was on board' - Christopher Bucktin - mirror.co.uk

>>12714217 Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre provided key evidence to French police to secure arrest of late pedophile's model agent friend Jean-Luc Brunel, charged with multiple counts of rape

>>12728253 PDF: Ghislaine Maxwell asks for case to be dismissed because jurors weren’t diverse enough

>>12752398 PDF: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell Forced Young Girls Into an Orgy: Court Records

#12 - Part 16

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition

>>12096629 Video: Tucker Carlson Defends Julian Assange’s Journalism as Pardon Campaign Grows

>>12096649 Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin: Julian Assange Deserves a Pardon

>>12259099 Possible Trump Pardon Overshadows Assange Extradition Ruling

>>12271599 Julian Assange's father, John Shipton takes fight to New York, hopes a change of President could advantage his son

>>12286751 WikiLeaks: UK judge to rule on Monday if Julian Assange can be extradited to US

>>12286782 Mother of Julian Assange's children says if a British court sends her fiancé to face life in a US jail, this country's no longer a safe haven for free speech

>>12295885 Pamela Anderson makes 11th-hour pardon plea for WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange

>>12303339 'A dangerous precedent': British judge to hand down Julian Assange decision

>>12303339 Q Post #3764 - Did Russia 'break-in' to DNC server(s)? How does one provide content to WL? Interning for the DNC can be deadly.

>>12303455 (2017) Assange To Hannity: Source For WikiLeaks Was Not Russian Government - Ian Schwartz - realclearpolitics.com

>>12303606 (2017) FOX News - Sean Hannity FULL INTERVIEW with Julian Assange - 1/3/17

>>12307656 Video: Julian Assange Extradition Hearing - Outside the Old Bailey livestream - 4 January 2021

>>12311626 Julian Assange will not be extradited to the US on espionage charges

>>12311650 PDF: USA -v- Julian Assange judgment - District Judge Vanessa Baraitser - 'I order the discharge of Julian Paul Assange'

>>12311717 Julian Assange extradition ruling: what happens now? Focus shifts to US appeal

>>12321965 Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Assange could come home if all charges were dropped

>>12322151 Scott Morrison won't ask Trump to pardon Julian Assange

>>12338886 WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange poised for bail application

>>12339138 Video: Julian Assange’s lawyers fear offer to return to Australia would result in extradition

>>12341214 Video: Alexander Downer says Julian Assange is a 'comedy of court cases' as UK blocks extradition order - Sky News Australia

>>12361796 'An incentive to abscond': Julian Assange denied bail by UK judge

>>12458233 With Trump Presidency Winding Down, Push for Assange Pardon Ramps Up

>>12543869 Video: Wikileaks asks reporters for help in desperate bid to score Julian Assange last-minute pardon

>>12598415 Video: Pamela Anderson pleads with Trump to pardon 'free speech hero' Assange: 'Do the right thing' - Fox News / Tucker Carlson Tonight

#12 - Part 17

Qanon / Conspiracy Theory Hit Pieces, Australia and Worldwide - Part 1

>>12089065 Video: QAnon Anonymous - We were given exclusive access to a ‘QAnon Anonymous’ meeting – for people addicted to insane conspiracy theories - The Shovel

>>12142346 As churches prove 'fertile ground' for conspiracy theories, some pastors are taking a stand - Joey Watson - abc.net.au

>>12233485 How conspiracy theories led 'fringe scientist' Jenny D'Ubios to escape Perth hotel quarantine - Harriet Alexander - theage.com.au

>>12238610 Year in a word: QAnon - Rumours of a cabal of satanic sex traffickers plotting to overthrow the US president shifted from far-right fringes to the mainstream - Courtney Weaver - ft.com

>>12238610 Video: Is QAnon a game gone wrong? - Financial Times

>>12339980 Anti-vaxxers are now as big a threat as climate deniers - Both like to phrase their denialism as ‘questioning’ - Tory Shepherd - theaustralian.com.au

>>12362512 QAnon Is Trumpism Now - The sprawling conspiracy theory is dying—and being reborn as the new normal of the Republican Party - Justin Ling - foreignpolicy.com

>>12371920 Elise Thomas Tweet: This is profoundly sad. QAnon may be ridiculous, but it is not a joke. We will probably never know how many lives have been ruined because of it

>>12393910 Victorian Liberal MP Bernie Finn posts Trump election conspiracy theories to Facebook - Elias Clure - abc.net.au

>>12393996 Video: Victorian Liberals condemn pro-Trump conspiracy theories posted by colleague Bernie Finn

>>12395291 QAnon and the storm of the U.S. Capitol: The offline effect of online conspiracy theories - Marc-André Argentino - theconversation.com

>>12395383 Qanon cultists believe the final showdown between light and darkness is upon us - David Aaronovitch - theaustralian.com.au

>>12417065 OPINION: From QAnon to climate denial, Australia has a ‘Ratbag Government’ - Michael Pascoe - thenewdaily.com.au

>>12422286 Video: Brisbane Police crack down on residents not wearing masks on their way to illegal protest in CBD

>>12461541 Explainer: What is QAnon? How a wild conspiracy theory led to the storming of the US Capitol - Emily McPherson - 9news.com.au

>>12477018 'QAnon Shaman' demanding organic food in jail after US Capitol arrest - 9News Staff - 9news.com.au

>>12477097 Amazon is removing products promoting the QAnon conspiracy - Jonathan Shieber - au.finance.yahoo.com

>>12477345 Twitter suspends 70,000 QAnon accounts - AAP - thewest.com.au

>>12477449 OPINION: Sydney MP Craig Kelly's job is to represent Hughes but he's pushing manic fringe craziness instead - Jenna Price - smh.com.au

>>12478538 Bill Shorten Tweet: The Trump v. Twitter stoush is a good reminder that not everything you read on the internet is true - 'QAnon conspiracy rubbish'

>>12495910 Opinion: QAnon and ‘Stop the Steal’ rioters will be in a world of hurt as the law crashes down on them - Nicholas Grossman - marketwatch.com

>>12512250 Why the far-right and white supremacists have embraced the Middle Ages and their symbols - Helen Young - theconversation.com

>>12512278 US Capitol riot: the myths behind the tattoos worn by ‘QAnon shaman’ Jake Angeli - Tom Birkett - theconversation.com

>>12546801 Pete Evans: Neo-Nazis plotted to move in on the celebrity chef - Jane Hansen - dailytelegraph.com.au

>>12559331 Trump followers who stormed Capitol could have had a mass psychosis - Jamie Seidel - news.com.au

>>12559710 ‘Peddlers of hate’: Australia’s growing legion of far-right extremists hail US Capitol invaders - Cait Kelly - thenewdaily.com.au

>>12559872 Go-to platform for neo-Nazis and QAnon attracts new users after Twitter, Parler purge - Ellen Whinnett - couriermail.com.au

>>12599033 Video: Could the conspiracy theory QAnon and those that follow it be active in Canberra? - ABC Radio CANBERRA / Mornings with Adam Shirley

>>12622910 Ghislaine Maxwell court hearing disrupted by apparent QAnon followers - Victoria Bekiempis - theguardian.com

>>12623240 Avril Haines, pick for national intelligence director, says she’ll help with a public threat assessment of QAnon - Julian E. Barnes - nytimes.com

#12 - Part 18

Qanon / Conspiracy Theory Hit Pieces, Australia and Worldwide - Part 2

>>1262324 NBC News Tweet: Director of National Intelligence nominee Avril Haines says, if confirmed, she will work with FBI and DHS to provide a public threat assessment on QAnon

>>12623632 Who is Q? And who is responsible for the cult of QAnon? - Jack The Insider (Peter Hoysted) - theaustralian.com.au

>>12646319 Avril Haines becomes first woman director of National Intelligence - Dustin Volz - theaustralian.com.au

>>12646649 QAnon followers reel as Biden inaugurated - Joseph Menn, Elizabeth Culliford, Katie Paul and Carrie Monahan - thewest.com.au

>>12646665 What Donald Trump's exit from the White House means for the QAnon conspiracy movement - Emma Brancatisano - sbs.com.au

>>12646771 Federal MP Warren Entsch: Politicians spreading MAGA and QAnon are ‘peddling crap’

>>12646898 QAnon believers grapple with doubt, spin new theories as Trump era ends - Drew Harwell and Craig Timberg - washingtonpost.com

>>12662430 John Podesta Tweet: Congratulations to Avril Haines on her Senate confirmation…Our intelligence community and national security are in good hands

>>12662800 Malcolm Turnbull Tweet: After the sacking of the US Capitol on Jan 6, the dangers of this cult are very clear especially if it’s adherents are able to influence or win support from leaders in government as they have so shamefully in the US

>>12662824 ‘Are you QAnon?’: Ezra Cohen-Watnick - One Trump official’s brush with an internet cult gone horribly wrong - Josh Gerstein - politico.com

>>12663622 QAnon and targeted abuse require online reform: Australia's eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant - Paul Smith - afr.com

>>12663791 Video: Murdoch Watch - Fox News & the Amplification of Conspiracies Surrounding the Death of Seth Rich - Kevin Rudd

>>12664755 As Biden acts, the prime minister stays silent on QAnon (and his family friend) - David Hardaker - crikey.com.au

>>12676265 Will deplatforming make QAnon and the far-right fade away or radicalise further? - James Purtill - abc.net.au

>>12679672 ‘Critical’: Biden orders review of domestic violent extremism threat - Eric Tucker - smh.com.au

>>12680534 Kevin Rudd Tweet: Unbelievable that Murdoch media would publish this outrageous cartoon of President Biden calling him “Creepy Joe” - and for what reason? Then suggesting he’s controlled by a non-existent organisation - “Antifa”. All QAnon crap. #MurdochRoyalCommission

>>12693016 Video: QAnon conspiracy theorists embarrassed and in disarray after Joe Biden's inauguration - Brian Fung and Kaya Yurieff - 7news.com.au

>>12760466 Video: Some QAnon Supporters Checked By Reality Seek A Way Out - David Klepper - huffpost.com

NEW OZ BREAD

Q Research AUSTRALIA #13 - THE WAR IS REAL Edition

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Filling #12…