>>7374387

Scott Morrison responds to Pamela Anderson’s Julian Assange plea

Pamela Anderson’s impassioned plea for Scott Morrison to personally intervene to secure the release of Julian Assange has fallen on deaf ears, with the Prime Minister insisting the WikiLeaks founder front a British court to justify his actions.

Mr Morrison wrote to the former Baywatch star explaining that the Australian government had to respect Britain’s judicial process and was unable to intervene any further.

In a copy of the letter, obtained by The Australian, Mr Morrison said Foreign Minister Marise Payne had oversight of the consular assistance offered to Mr Assange and the 48-year-old would not receive any special treatment.

“The Australian government continues to monitor Mr Assange’s case closely, as it would for any other Australian citizen in detention overseas.

“Beyond providing consular assistance, it is important to note that Australia has no standing and is unable to intervene in Mr Assange’s legal proceedings.

“Mr Assange is entitled to due process, including representation in the legal proceedings he faces in the UK.

“The proper place for Mr Assange to raise concerns about the lawfulness of his actions, or his treatment under the law, is through those legal processes, which should be allowed to run their course.”

Mr Assange remains in a top-security British jail as he fights a US bid to extradite him on espionage charges that could see him sentenced for up to 175 years in the US.

Mr Morrison’s letter came as Anderson arrived in Brisbane on Monday night, ahead of filming on a television commercial.

The model and actress had been invited to give a speech at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday, calling for the Prime Minister to negotiate Mr Assange’s safe return to Australia, but had to cancel the engagement because of a scheduling conflict.

It is understood Anderson had been invited to the nation’s capital by South Australian cross-bench MP Rebekha Sharkie, and had also been scheduled to watch a session of question time and participate in a “Q&A” session with interested MPs and senators.

In a copy of her intended speech sighted by The Australian, Anderson was to claim Mr ­Assange was suffering “psychological torture” in jail.

“Every moment he is in there, he is in danger,” she was to say.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/scott-morrison-responds-to-pamela-andersons-julian-assange-plea/news-story/ff122bb5d32842ee9fd630e188945e9d

New George Papadopoulos Tweet

Looks like the NYTs reporting on the IG report confirms one thing: Halper, Turk, Downer, Mifsud were not “FBI informants” so they could only be one other informant, CIA. The Times has characterized all as “government informants” for a year. Bad news for Brennan. Durham probe.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1199810694717165569

Russia Inquiry Review Is Expected to Undercut Trump Claim of F.B.I. Spying

The F.B.I. never tried to place undercover agents or informants inside the Trump campaign, a highly anticipated inspector general’s report is expected to find.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/us/politics/fbi-trump-campaign-inspector-general.html

Australia moves closer to compelling priests to report confessions of child abuse

Clergy would not be able to use 'confessional privilege' to avoid giving evidence

Australia's top attorneys agreed on Friday to standardize laws across the country forcing priests to report child abuse revealed to them during confessions in a move that could widen a schism between the church and the government.

Federal and state attorneys-general agreed on key principles for the laws, which fall under the responsibility of state and territory governments and which address the most contentious recommendations from a government inquiry into child abuse.

With half of the country's population identifying themselves as Christian, Australia has faced a crisis of faith amid worldwide allegations that churches and religious leaders had protected pedophile priests and habitually covered sexual abuse.

"Confessional privilege cannot be relied upon to avoid a child protection or criminal obligation to report beliefs, suspicions or knowledge of child abuse," according to a communiqué published after the attorneys meeting.

In addition, priests would not be able to use a "confessional privilege" defence to avoid giving evidence against a third party in criminal or civil proceedings.

Although most states have already been working on such laws, the unified position would implement a nationwide standard — but could also lead to a widening rift between the church and the government in a country that adheres to a secular constitution.

Archbishop Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, the country's top Catholic body, said the Catholic Church supports "nationally consistent" reporting regimes to protect children.

However, he said, the church does not consider the removal of the legal protection for the "sacramental seal of confession" helpful or necessary.

"The removal of protections at law would be ineffective, counterproductive and unjust: ineffective because abusers do not seek out confession and certainly would not seek it out if they knew that their offences would be reported," Coleridge was cited as saying in a statement emailed to Reuters.

"Counterproductive because the rare opportunity a priest may have to counsel abusers to turn themselves in and amend their life would be lost; and unjust because it would establish as a matter of law a situation where a priest would not be able to defend himself against an accusation made against him."

In 2017, Australia ended a five-year government inquiry into institutional child sex abuse, which came up with 122 recommendations, including that Australia introduce a law forcing religions leaders to report child abuse.

Australia's Cardinal George Pell, who is appealing a conviction for sexually assaulting two teenaged choirboys, has been so far the most senior Catholic official worldwide to be jailed for child sex offences.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/australia-moves-closer-compulsory-child-abuse-reporting-by-priests-1.5379516

Spanish judge to question Julian Assange over Ecuador embassy spying claims

British authorities will finally allow a videolink interview with the WikiLeaks founder in a probe against a security firm that allegedly sent illegally obtained material to the CIA

The British justice system has finally agreed to let a Spanish judge question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as a witness in a case involving allegations that a Spanish security firm spied on him while he was living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Judge José de la Mata of Spain’s High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, will interview the cyber-activist via video link on December 20, said judicial sources.

Assange will be transferred from Belmarsh prison in southeast London to Westminster Magistrates Court to answer questions from De la Mata, who is investigating alleged violations of client-attorney privilege between the cyber-activist and his lawyers, and allegations that these conversations were passed on to the CIA.

British civil servants visited Assange in prison last week, asked him whether he agreed to be questioned by De la Mata, and delivered a document listing the events under investigation by the judge, who had issued a European Investigation Order (EIO) in September requesting assistance from British authorities.

This list of events under investigation, which EL PAÍS has seen, notes that David Morales, owner of the Spanish security firm UC Global, SL “invaded the privacy of Assange and his lawyers by placing microphones inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London without consent from the affected parties.” It also states that the information thus collected was distributed to other people and institutions, including “authorities from Ecuador and agents from the United States.”

It has not been easy to secure the UK’s permission to question the Australian cyber-activist. The Spanish judge sent London the EIO on September 25, requesting authorization to interview Assange as part of an investigation into Morales and his company for breach of privacy, violation of client-attorney privilege and illegal arms possession.

Documents and video footage revealed in July by EL PAÍS show that UC Global, SL spied on Assange’s conversations with his lawyers at meetings where they were designing his defense strategy to avoid extradition to the US. Morales allegedly delivered these and other conversations to US intelligence services.

The British justice system, acting through the United Kingdom Central Authority (UKCA), the agency in charge of processing EIOs, initially blocked De la Mata’s request. This body questioned the Spanish judge’s powers to investigate the case in the UK, and demanded more “clarity” and information than the judge had provided.

This position created unease in judicial circles, and was viewed as resistance to an investigation that could hinder Assange’s extradition to the US. The WikiLeaks founder’s hearing is scheduled for February.

Several Spanish judges consulted by this newspaper said that EIO requests are generally granted on an automatic basis. With an EIO, a legal authority from a EU member state can ask a legal authority from another EU country for assistance in obtaining evidence or means of evidence, including witness statements.

The US justice system is accusing Assange of 18 crimes that add up to 175 years in prison in connection with WikiLeaks’ publication of classified material on military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/11/29/inenglish/1575044449_760169.html

Repost from Q Research General #9475

>>7408720 (pb)

Is the the start of pedo disclosure in Australian parliament????

Nationals MP blocks release of information over AFP travel probe

Jetsetting Nationals MP George Christensen has blocked the release of information about a federal police probe into his frequent travels to the Philippines during a four-year period.

The Queensland MP has used his right to deny the release of key documents relating to the year-long police "assessment" of his pattern of travels in southeast Asia.

About 57 folios of information containing who referred him to police and when, and also why the assessment ended, were set to be released at least in part by the Australian Federal Police.

But an investigation by Nine News, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald has been stymied because "a third party has objected to the disclosure of those documents".

Mr Christensen, who was re-elected in May with an 11.2 per cent swing towards him despite the controversy, has always labelled scrutiny, questions and concerns over his travel as a "vile smear".

He was dubbed the "Member for Manila" by colleagues after it emerged earlier this year he had taken 28 trips, spending almost 300 days in the Philippines between 2014 and 2018.

Federal police looked into his travel for more than a year including visits to areas known for their active nightlife and bar districts.

For five months Nine News, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald has been trying to access police records, and a letter sent by the AFP to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton in mid-2018 under Freedom of Information laws.

Sources familiar with the contents of the letter have said it stated the "assessment" of Mr Christensen's travel had finished.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/george-chistensen-nationals-mp-blocks-release-of-information-over-philippines-travel-afp-probe/f42caac7-8d12-4284-b996-6ba6d2feb6ae

'What little credibility you have has disappeared': Independent senator Nick Xenophon claims banned Chinese telco Huawei have been treated 'unfairly' by Australia

Former senator Nick Xenophon has accused Australia of unfairly treating controversial Chinese telco firm Huawei as he accepted a new job as their lawyer.

The founder of the Centre Alliance political party is now the partner of law firm Xenophon Davis, with former investigative TV journalist Mark Davis.

Mr Xenophon accused Australia of smearing Huawei's reputation, as he announced Xenophon Davis's high-profile new client.

'We will defend Huawei Australia against false allegations that will unfairly cause it further economic loss and reputuational damage,' he said in a statement on Monday.

The former South Australian senator, whose political party now has three MPs in federal Parliament, was savaged on Twitter.

'Sorry Nick. What little crediblity you had left has now disappeared completely,' one critic Jasper Williams tweeted in reply to the Xenophon Davis social media account.

Huawei, the world's biggest telecommunications equipment company, was barred in 2012 from installing Australia's National Broadband Network over security and cyber spying fears.

In August last year, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced Huawei would also be banned from installing 5G mobile, annoying Australia's biggest trading partner, China.

Mr Xenophon denied any suggestion his law firm would be a mouthpiece for the Chinese government.

'We are not here to defend the Chinese government or any of its actions,' he said.

'Huawei Australia is not owned by the Chinese government.

'Nor is it a wing of the Chinese Communist Party or a front for any of its intelligence arms.'

Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei was a member of the People's Liberation Army before founding his technology company in 1987.

His ties to the Chinese Communist Party have made governments nervous, from Australia to India.

On Monday, Huawei issued a media release announcing it had appointed Xenophon Davis to 'defend our company locally against malicious and false attacks designed to cause us reputational damage'.

'Every smear against Huawei is also a smear against our hard working staff and we want to make sure the important discussion around cyber security is based on facts and not baseless innuendo that is unfortunately dominating the current discussion,' Huawei's director of corporate affairs Jeremy Mitchell said.

Mr Xenophon, a former campaigner against poker machines, is far from the only former Australian politician hired by Huawei.

In 2011, it appointed former Liberal foreign minister Alexander Downer and former Victorian Labor premier John Brumby to its board in Australia.

Huawei is already banned from installing communications in the United States and New Zealand.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7744803/Former-senator-Nick-Xenophon-accuses-Australia-making-false-allegations-against-Huawei.html

New George Papadopoulos Tweets

There was one person on this planet that lived the spy scandal that rocked the world: me. And I am telling you that the CIA and MI6 was behind it. Focus on the global nature of the spying: Australia, Ukraine, Italy and the UK all had skin in the game for a Clinton presidency.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1201327153406590976

Remember this the Clinton errand boy, Alexander Downer, apparently has me on tape (spying) that I said: “the Russians have dirt” on Clinton (as if any country in the world doesn’t have dirt on her). No mention of emails that CIA asset Mifsud tells me about. So much for predicate!

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1201345077638881280

ASIO takes lead as spy agencies are put on war footing

An elite intelligence taskforce led by ASIO, the Australian Signals Directorate and Defence intelligence will be created to put the country on a virtual war footing to combat national security threats from an unprecedented level of foreign interference and espionage.

The move will see the role of ASIO expand for the first time to share classified intelligence with Australian Federal Police on foreign interference. The pooling of intelligence — through security investigations conducted by ASIO and criminal investigations under the AFP — will help determine whether charges are laid against foreign targets or whether they are quietly thrown out of the country.

The taskforce will also bring in aerial and satellite intelligence-gathering used by the Defence Department’s Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation, as well as drawing on Austrac’s financial intelligence capabilities.

The formation of the unit, which will begin with initial new funding of almost $90m, comes amid the Chinese spy scandal involving claims by defector Wang Liqiang that he was a Chinese spy. The validity of Mr Wang’s claims have been questioned as ASIO seeks to confirm his story while confirming that it is also investigating claims China sought to install an agent in Australia’s federal parliament.

The government said the creation of the taskforce was not ­related to the recent claims of Chinese interference and that it had been in development for months. It was, however, signed off by cabinet last week.

Scott Morrison confirmed the establishment of the Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce, saying it would elevate the intelligence agencies’ abilities to detect and disrupt foreign interference attempts and bring prosecutions under criminal espionage offences passed last year.

…..

A joint statement to be released by Mr Morrison, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and ­Defence Minister Linda Reynolds says the taskforce will address the issue of trying to bring prosecutions against known targets operating on Australian soil. The lack of arrests and criminal prosecutions has been a source of criticism of the agencies before significant changes, including new criminal offences, were brought in last year, alongside foreign interference laws.

The most significant changes will be specialised legal capabilities for ASIO to provide briefs — using what would have otherwise been classified intelligence — to the AFP for potential prosecution.

The taskforce, which will be led by an as yet unnamed ASIO official, will enjoy greater intelligence sharing between agencies at the highest level, with the Office of National Intelligence providing strategic advice to government. It will also be given greater responsibility for analysis of foreign disinformation activity designed to interfere with Australia’s political system.

The AFP, as announced last year, will have an investigation unit dedicated to countering foreign interference and this will be represented on the taskforce.

It will also be tasked with greater “specialist covert and technical collection support capabilities”.

Austrac, which has recently come to public attention with its discovery that Westpac bank had breached anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws 23 million times, will be tasked with using its financial intelligence capabilities for foreign interference stings.

The secretive Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation, which uses satellite and aerial imagery for primarily military purposes, will also join the taskforce. The statement to be released on Monday says the taskforce will be an advancement in intelligence sharing and capabilities in tackling what ASIO has repeatedly warned has become the most prolific level of espionage activity since the height of the Cold War.

“This is a boost to our ability to discover, track and disrupt foreign interference in Australia,” the statement says. “The increase in intelligence collection, assessment and law enforcement capabilities will help turn more intelligence assessments into operational disruptions to better protect Australians from foreign interference. The new dedicated capability of the taskforce will also increase the collaboration and streamline the decision-making between agencies, and strengthen Australia’s analysis of the sophisticated disinformation activities happening across the world, particularly against democratic processes and elections.”

In a submission to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security in January last year, ASIO cited six examples of individuals it had targeted that were involved in espionage or foreign interference, including Australian nationals working on behalf of foreign states.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/asio-takes-lead-as-spy-agencies-are-put-onwar-footing/news-story/85ca619855e98408a03689fbc8be012f

>Information warfare.

More George Papadopoulos Tweets

Horowitz is the prelude to Durham, he’s not the main act. Durham’s probe examined all the foreign governments (Australia/UK/Italy/Ukraine) that were colluding with the Brennan CIA to spy/entrap me and others. Their tricks failed and now all are being exposed around the world!

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1201450424991043585

It’s not difficult to understand why the Attorney General is objecting to Australia’s version. Truth is Australia was spying on me in London to set up Trump. Durham has been interviewing both Israeli and Australian officials who know EXACTLY who Alexander Downer’s handlers were!!

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1201717460967145474

AG Barr is objecting to a key IG finding that was legit for the FBI to open its Trump probe based on what George Papadopoulos said about Russians having Clinton’s emails. The unorthodox split is bound to fuel partisan battles next week… w/@DevlinBarrett

https://twitter.com/karoun/status/1201661763680440320

Barr disputes key inspector general finding about FBI’s Russia investigation

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/barr-doesnt-accept-key-inspector-general-finding-about-fbis-russia-investigation/2019/12/02/4464f018-154d-11ea-a659-7d69641c6ff7_story.html

The world will never be the same once Joseph Mifsud and Alexander Downer’s handlers are revealed. Will be the first time in history that US “allies” were weopanized to interfere in OUR electoral process.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1201724145135845377

Repost from Q Research General #9481

>>7414004 (pb)

Prince Andrew's accuser Virginia Giuffre says she was passed around 'like a platter of fruit'

The woman who says she was a trafficking victim made to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17 has said she was passed around rich and famous men "like a platter of fruit".

Virginia Roberts Giuffre told BBC Panorama in an interview broadcast today that her story, being flown around the world in private planes by now dead financier Jeffrey Epstein and going to elite parties, was one of "abuse".

"It went from just being abused by Epstein to being passed around like a platter of fruit," she said.

"This is not some sordid sex story. This is a story of being trafficked. This is a story of abuse."

Giuffre's first UK television interview on the topic described how she says she was trafficked by notorious sex offender Epstein beginning in 2001 and made to have sex with Andrew three times, including once in London.

Prince Andrew has insisted her claims are untrue.

"He knows what happened. I know what happened," Giuffre said.

For over a decade Prince Andrew visited Epstein's mansions in Florida, New York and the Caribbean. He had travelled on one of the Epstein's planes, known in some circles as the "Lolita Express".

In a rare interview with BBC Newsnight two weeks ago, Andrew suggested a photograph Giuffre produced of her posing with Andrew could have been doctored, saying he "can't be certain" that it actually shows his hand on the woman's side.

But Giuffre was adamant the photo was real, and even told Panorama she had given it to the FBI to examine for evidence.

"It's an authentic photo," she said.

Giuffre described Prince Andrew as the "the most hideous dancer I have ever seen in my life", recounting a trip the pair made to London nightclub Tramp in 2001, when she allegedly was forced to have sex with him.

"It was horrible and this guy was sweating all over me," she said.

"His sweat was like it was raining basically everywhere, I was just like grossed out from it, but I knew I had to keep him happy because that's what Jeffrey and Ghislaine (Maxwell) would have expected from me."

https://www.9news.com.au/national/prince-andrew-accuser-virginia-giuffre-bbc-interview/2f380889-abfe-43ba-b115-4c2d363af714

Australian MSM

Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre urges UK to 'stand beside her' as Duke faces US subpoenas

Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by the disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein as a 17-year-old to have sex with Prince Andrew, has urged the UK public to "stand beside her" and slammed the Duke of York's "ridiculous excuses".

Ms Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts, has long maintained that she was forced by Epstein and his then-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell to have sex with Prince Andrew in 2001.

Now 36 and living in Australia, Ms Giuffre was interviewed by the BBC's Panorama program as part of their investigation into the allegations against Jeffrey Epstein.

She told the program she was forced to have sex with the Prince three times — once in New York, once in London and once at Epstein's private Caribbean island during an "orgy."

"This is not some sordid sex story. This is a story of being trafficked. This is a story of abuse and this is a story of your guys' royalty," she said.

Ms Giuffre also told the BBC that a photo of her and the Prince, which he suggested could be fake, is genuine and she gave the original to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2011.

Last month, Prince Andrew "categorically" denied having sex with Ms Giuffre, saying he had "no recollection" of having met her.

Four days after the interview, the Duke of York announced that he was withdrawing from public duties for the "foreseeable future."

In his interview with Newsnight, Prince Andrew cast doubt on Ms Giuffre's testimony that he was "profusely sweating" in a nightclub by claiming that an incident during the Falklands War meant he could not perspire.

Ms Giuffre stood by her claim that she was taken to London's Tramp nightclub by Epstein and Ms Maxwell in 2001 and asked to dance by the Duke.

"He is the most hideous dancer I've ever seen in my life," Ms Giuffre said.

"I mean, it was horrible and this guy was sweating all over me, like his sweat was like it was raining basically everywhere.

"I was just like grossed out from it, but I knew I had to keep him happy because that's what Jeffrey and Ghislaine would have expected from me."

She also slammed claims made by palace sources to UK media outlets that a photo of the Duke with his arm around her waist is fake.

"The people on the inside are going to keep coming up with these ridiculous excuses like his arm was elongated or the photo was doctored," Ms Giuffre said.

She said the photo was taken at Ms Maxwell's London flat because she wanted to show her family that she had met a member of the Royal family.

"It's a real photo. I've given it to the FBI for their investigation and it's an authentic photo. There's a date on the back of it from when it was printed," she said.

Prince Andrew faces witness subpoenas in US

The BBC revealed that lawyers for five of Jeffery Epstein's victims want Prince Andrew to provide witness testimony in their court cases.

The women, who are suing Epstein's estate, said the Prince witnessed people being given massages at the financier's homes.

Pre-trial witness subpoenas have been prepared for all five cases and could be served on Prince Andrew if he returns to the United States.

The subpoenas would have to be signed off by a judge once the Prince was on US soil, and he could challenge them in court if he did not want to give evidence.

…..

The BBC also uncovered an email from Prince Andrew to Ms Maxwell in 2015.

"Let me know when we can talk. Got some specific questions to ask you about Virginia Roberts," the email said.

"Have some info. Call me when you have a moment," she replied.

Ms Maxwell has previously denied any involvement in or knowledge of Epstein's abuse.

(continued)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-03/prince-andrew-virginia-giuffre-asks-uk-to-stand-beside-her/11759128

>>7417463

>>7417583

Jeffrey Epstein's Victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre BBC Panorama Interview 12/02/2019 (FULL)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRHFc9dtSWU

Assange to Testify on Being Recorded in Embassy in London

Recordings have emerged of private conversations that Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, had while living in the Ecuadorean Embassy. He and a Spanish prosecutor blame the United States.

MADRID — This much has become clear in recent weeks: When Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, was living in Ecuador’s embassy in London, someone was spying on him, recording his private conversations. The question is: Who ordered the surveillance?

Mr. Assange — in jail in Britain and facing prosecution in the United States — is scheduled to testify remotely later this month before a Spanish judge in a criminal case accusing a Spanish security company of eavesdropping on him illegally.

The Spanish court case has revealed a new set of secrets in the international saga of Mr. Assange, 48, showing that his claims of being spied on were not just paranoia or a publicity stunt. But as with all things related to someone who has been labeled a villain and a hero, a prophet and a crank, the revelations are subject to conflicting interpretations.

In Spain’s National Court, a public prosecutor and Mr. Assange’s lawyers have presented a raft of evidence that he was recorded while in the Ecuadorean Embassy, which they say violated his right to privacy. The material includes video recordings, reviewed by The New York Times, in which his conversations with visitors are audible.

The prosecutor and Mr. Assange’s allies argue that the C.I.A. was behind the spying. A spokesman for the agency declined to comment.

After President Trump took office in 2017, the C.I.A. began espionage aimed at Mr. Assange, WikiLeaks and their ties to Russian intelligence, and the Justice Department began building a criminal case against him. But it remains unclear whether it was the Americans who were behind bugging the embassy.

The case adds another layer of complexity to the legal travails of Mr. Assange, who has been indicted in the United States on charges of espionage and hacking that exposed classified national security secrets. The Justice Department has asked Britain to extradite him, and British courts have begun considering the request.

His lawyers plan to introduce evidence from the Spanish case into the extradition case, arguing that it should block the British government from turning him over to the Americans. They say that the surveillance includes recordings of privileged conversations Mr. Assange had with his lawyers and doctors, and proves that he cannot receive a fair trial in the United States.

The British courts are unlikely to accept that argument, according to Amy Jeffress, a lawyer at Arnold & Porter in Washington and a former Justice Department attaché at the American Embassy in London. She said the legal standard is whether extradition would comply with Britain’s Human Rights Act, which protects the right to privacy but balances it against considerations like national security and fighting crime.

Mr. Assange is scheduled to testify on Dec. 20 by videoconference from Westminster Magistrates’ Court before Judge José de la Mata some 800 miles away, in Spain’s National Court in Madrid. The judge is handling the investigation into UC Global, a Spanish firm that was in charge of security at the Ecuadorean Embassy during Mr. Assange’s long stay there.

David Morales, who founded UC Global after many years in the Spanish military, was indicted in October, charged with privacy violation, bribery and money laundering. He denied wrongdoing, and Judge de la Mata released him pending a trial, but ordered him to surrender his passport and report regularly to the authorities.

(continued)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/world/europe/assange-spying-embassy-Ecuador.html

>>7417387

In May 2016 I humiliated the former Prime Minister of the U.K. on the front page of the Times of London for attacking the campaign. A couple days later the Clinton errand boy, Alexander Downer, with Peter Strzok’s boss, Bill Priestap, in town, begins to spy on me and record me.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1202094727509807106

Repost from Q Research General #9488

>>7419325 (pb)

Makes you wonder what's going on in the land down under:

AFP staffer is found dead in a Melbourne hotel after she emailed a suicide note accusing police of 'toxic bullying' - after five federal officers killed themselves in just two years

A staff member of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has been found dead in a Melbourne hotel after emailing an apparent suicide note in which she accused the organisation of 'toxic bullying.'

The 43-year-old, who worked as a criminal intelligence analyst between February and August, is the sixth member of the AFP to take their own lives in the past two years.

AFP suicides in the last two years

November 25, 2019: Julie Woodward's body was discovered at a Melbourne hotel next to a suicide note calling out 'toxic bullying' within the force

July 7, 2019: An AFP officer, who remains unnamed, took his own life with his service weapon in a Canberra motel room while on a work trip

December 9, 2018: Sergeant Samantha Baglin, 44, took her own life inside the AFP headquarters in the Edmund Barton Building in Canberra

October 28, 2018: Superintendent Richard Roberts also took his own life inside the AFP national headquarters in the Edmund Barton Building in Canberra

November 4, 2017: Malcolm Scott, 59, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was discovered by colleagues, also in Canberra's AFP HQ

February, 2017: Sue Jones, 53, turned her service weapon on herself in the bathroom of the AFP's Melbourne headquarters

Article from 6 days ago:

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/world/afp-staffer-is-found-dead-in-a-melbourne-hotel-after-she-emailed-a-suicide-note-accusing-police-of-toxic-bullying-after-five-federal-officers-killed-themselves-in-just-two-years/ar-BBXo7B0?li=BBqdg4K

Repost from Q Research General #9493

>>7423049 (pb)

From meddling in our politics and buying up vital assets to undermining our institutions: How China's 'insidious' influence on Australia has been sensationally laid bare

Crossbench senators have spoken out against China in the Federal Parliament

Jacqui Lambie highlighted mysterious death of Chinese informer 'Nick' Zhao

Tasmanian senator pointed to Labor Party bribes, undermining of democracy

Speeches occurred hours after new trade figures showed the reliance on China

Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick moved a motion for a China Senate inquiry

That occurred a day after his party's founder Nick Xenophon defended Huawei

A line-up of powerful senators has condemned China's 'insidious' and growing influence on Australia, warning our democracy and way of life was being undermined.

One by one they spoke out against the Communist superpower, from the bribing of Labor Party officials to the suspicious death of a Chinese intelligence informer, groomed as a possible Liberal candidate.

The outspoken crossbench lawmakers savaged China's growing influence only hours after official figures showed Australia was even more reliant on our major trading partner to prop up the flagging economy.

For the first time since 1973, Australia's exports are worth than the imports for two consecutive quarters - a rare situation known as a current account surplus.

Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie accused the Coalition government and the Labor opposition of ignoring the China threat - hours after the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures were released.

She stressed her concerns were with the Chinese government and not Chinese immigrants, who first came to Australia during the 1850s gold rush.

The major parties joined forces to defeat the call for a Senate inquiry into China.

Senator Lambie had accused Labor and the Coalition of downplaying China's influence.

'It's about time the people in this place woke up to China's attempts to infiltrate our economy and our democracy,' she told Parliament on Tuesday night.

'I can tell you that the other 25million Australians out there have.

'Both sides of politics need to take a good, hard look at themselves and make sure they're acting in our national interest. Quite obviously, over China, they are not.'

more

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7752737/Senator-Jacqui-Lambie-slams-Chinas-insidious-influence-infiltration-Australian-politics.html

Repost from Q Research General #9496

>>7425300 (pb)

Over 200 arrested in 13 countries in Europol crackdown on money laundering

More than 200 people have been arrested in 13 countries as part of a global crackdown on money laundering, the European police authority Europol said on Wednesday.

The swoop by law enforcement authorities in European countries, as well as Australia and the United States took place between September and November, AFP reports. The operations resulted “in the identification of 3,833 money mules alongside 386 money mule recruiters, of which 228 were arrested,” Europol said.

More than 650 banks, 17 bank associations and other financial institutions helped to report 7,520 fraudulent money mule transactions, preventing a total loss of €12.9 million ($14.3 million), according to the statement.

https://www.rt.com/newsline/475002-europol-crackdown-money-laundering

Repost from Q Research General #9502

>>7430012 (pb)

Prime Minister announces dramatic cuts to public service departments

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced dramatic cuts to the federal government, with five high-paid staffers getting the chop.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a dramatic cut to the public service, dumping a number of government departments in favour of new super departments.

Mr Morrison will slash the number of departments from 18 to 14 in an effort to cut red tape and improve services.

As a result, five high-paid department heads will lose their jobs.

“Having fewer departments will allow us to bust bureaucratic congestion and ultimately deliver better services,” he told reporters in Canberra today.

“This is about getting better services on the ground. Australians should be able to access simple and reliable services, designed around their needs.”

https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/prime-minister-announces-dramatic-cuts-to-public-service-departments/news-story/19e9c13178bb80859dc5b4c3f27a24af

Doctors rip 'irresponsible' U.K. government for ignoring 'grave' concerns about Julian Assange

Dozens of doctors worried about the health of jailed WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange reiterated their concerns with U.K. government officials in an open letter released Thursday.

A group of medical doctors who wrote to British authorities late last month regarding Mr. Assange’s health said in the latest letter that their concerns have not been acknowledged.

“In our opinion, the UK Government’s conduct in this matter is irresponsible, incompatible with medical ethics and unworthy of a democratic society bound by the rule of law,” the doctors wrote.

We reiterate our grave concern that Mr. Assange could die of deliberate medical negligence in a British prison and demand an urgent response from the UK Government,” the doctors added.

The letter was addressed to Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC, the lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice in charge of the U.K. Ministry of Justice, and a copy was also sent to Priti Patel, the British home secretary. Neither immediately answered inquiries from The Washington Times.

Mr. Assange, a 48-year-old Australian native, has been jailed in London since April amid facing a U.S. extradition request connected to criminal charges brought by the Department of Justice related to his role running the WikiLeaks website and its publication of classified military and diplomatic material.

He is accused of violating the U.S. Espionage Act and a federal computer hacking statute, and he faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in an American prison if extradited and found guilty.

Advocates for Mr. Assange have asserted his health has worsened while detained, and a torture expert for the United Nations warned last month that the WikiLeaks publisher may perish in prison unless the U.K. “alleviates his inhumane situation.”

The group of doctors — more than 60 spanning several countries — subsequently wrote the British home secretary late last month urging the U.K. to move Mr. Assange from London’s Belmarsh prison to a medical facility so that his physical and psychological health can be properly assessed.

“Were such urgent assessment and treatment not to take place, we have real concerns, on the evidence currently available, that Mr. Assange could die in prison,” they wrote in the first letter. “The medical situation is thereby urgent. There is no time to lose.”

A spokesperson for the British government defended its treatment of Mr. Assange when reached for comment.

“The allegations Mr Assange was subjected to torture are unfounded and wholly false,” a spokesperson for the U.K. government told The Washington Times. “The UK is committed to upholding the rule of law, and ensuring that no one is ever above it.”

Extradition proceedings for Mr. Assange are currently set to start in London in February 2020. Representatives for two members of Parliament in his home country of Australia previously told The Times this week that they plan to travel to London to visit the jailed publisher early next year.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/dec/5/julian-assange-case-doctors-rip-irresponsible-brit/

Repost from Q Research General #9512

>>7437638

I love pre Captain Cook maps.

It's nice to remember that Australia didn't exist 250 years ago.

Repost from Q Research General #9513

>>7438397

Exposing Jeffrey Epstein's international sex trafficking ring | 60 Minutes Australia

Published on Nov 10, 2019

The Jeffrey Epstein scandal – Tara Brown reports how a New York billionaire masterminded an international sex trafficking ring of young women, and why wealthy and powerful men, including HRH Prince Andrew, are now implicated in the saga.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQOOxOl9l80

Repost from Q Research General #9514

>>7439310

Fears grow about Sydney after Australia fires merge into giant blaze

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Bushfires fanned by winds combined into a single giant blaze north of Sydney late on Friday, blanketing Australia’s biggest city in hazardous smoke, causing weekend sports games to be cancelled and prompting calls for outdoor workers to stay home. Wildfire has killed at least four people and destroyed more than 680 homes across eastern Australia since the start of November, months earlier than the usual summer bushfire season, with the authorities blaming an extended drought, strong wind and suspected arson.

Smoke and flying ash has lingered over Sydney for most of the past week, turning the daytime sky orange, obscuring visibility and prompting commuters to wear breathing masks. Satellite images spread on social media showed the smoke spreading across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand, 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) away.

“The massive #NSW fires are in some cases just too big to put out at the moment,” wrote the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in a post on its official Twitter account.

Sydney is the capital city in New South Wales state.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) said in a tweet that “a number of fires in the Hawkesbury, Hunter and Central Coast areas have now joined”. The tweet included a map showing 10 separate fires connecting about 50 kilometres north of metropolitan Sydney.

The total area burnt by those fires was around 335,000 hectares, or 830,000 acres, the RFS added.

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said authorities were particularly concerned the fires may spread east.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-australia-bushfires/fears-grow-about-sydney-after-australia-fires-merge-into-giant-blaze-idUKKBN1YA0AT

stay safe NSW ausfags.

Repost from Q Research General #9516

>>7440791

'Unprecedented' fires turn skies orange in Australia

Firefighters battled to contain nearly 150 fires burning in New South Wales state on Friday as strong winds fanned the flames and again shrouded Sydney, Australia's biggest city, in hazardous smoke.

Bushfires have killed at least four people and destroyed more than 680 homes since the start of November. Fires are still burning in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland states.

While nearly 150 blazes were alight across Australia's east coast, New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said authorities were particularly concerned about eight fires now at emergency levels around Sydney, the state capital where about 5 million people live.

"They have the potential or are expected to spread further east, which unfortunately is getting into more populated areas, villages, communities, isolated rural areas, and other farming practices and businesses throughout the region," Fitzsimmons told reporters in Sydney.

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/world/2019/12/683_279915.html

Repost from Q Research General #9517

>>7441722

https://nationalpost.com/news/former-vice-editor-gets-nine-year-sentence-for-recruiting-young-drug-mules-for-massive-cocaine-smuggling-ring

Former Vice editor gets nine years in prison for recruiting young drug mules for massive cocaine smuggling ring

TORONTO — A former high-profile Vice Media music editor who recruited young musicians, models and a former Vice intern to smuggle huge loads of cocaine — hidden in their luggage — on flights to Australia was sentenced to nine years in prison, Tuesday.

Yaroslav Pastukhov, 29, best known under his pen name Slava Pastuk or his online alias Slava P, was found not to be the mastermind of the international plot that ended when four Canadians and one American were caught at Sydney airport with more than $20 million worth of pressed cocaine bricks glued into the lining of their suitcases.

He was, however, found to be directing frontline couriers and organizing and facilitating the network’s Toronto end, along with a co-accused, a judge said.

Ontario Court of Justice Judge Heather Pringle said Pastukhov’s actions were more significant because he “exploited his relationship with these couriers,” several of whom he met through his work at Vice.

Repost from Q Research General #9520

Resignations in the news 12/3/2019 - part 2

…..

Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Australia will resign

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2019/12/03/archbishop-of-the-anglican-church-of-australia-will-resign/

Repost from Q Research General #9520

>>7444144

Based Aussie Rugby player wins settlement after being sacked for saying gays would go to hell.

"Israel Folau, a Tongan-Australian Christian athlete who was sacked by Rugby Australia (RA) earlier this year for posting a Bible verse that was labeled "anti-gay," says he feels vindicated after reaching an agreement with the organization.

The months-long battle for Folau centered on his Instagram post that said, "Warning: drunks, homosexuals, adulterers…hell awaits you. Repent! Only Jesus saves." Folau, the 30-year-old son of a pastor, admitted his post caused harm but maintained he would put up "whatever he likes" on social media and "did not intend to harm or offend any person," according to the Guardian.

RA and Rugby NSW apologized to Folau, the highest-paid rugby star in the country, in a joint statement issued on Wednesday, in which both parties denounced discrimination and apologized for any "hurt or harm" caused to the other. While the former Wallabies fullback was seeking up to $14 million in damages from his former employers, his settlement remains confidential.

"We are extremely pleased with the settlement reached today," Folau, alongside his wife, Maria, said in a video posted on his website. "With today's acknowledgment and apology by Rugby Australia, we have been vindicated and can now move on with our lives to focus on our faith and our family.""

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/israel-folau-rugby-australia-bible-verse-controversial-instagram-post

Repost from Q Research General #9520

>>7444150

JPMorgan banker testifying for cartel prosecutors says there was no agreement

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A prosecution witness in an Australian criminal cartel case against Citigroup Inc and Deutsche Bank AG said on Friday that the banks never colluded, but that he helped a regulator build its case to get immunity.

The testimony from former JPMorgan Chase & Co markets head Jeff Herbert-Smith in court is a blow to the prosecution, which is relying on JPMorgan to support a case that the three global investment banks engaged in criminal cartel behaviour in a A$2.5 billion share issue for Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in 2015.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which brought the charges, accuses Citi and Deutsche and their client, Australia’s fourth-largest bank, of withholding details of the sale to support the stock’s price. JPMorgan was given immunity in exchange for cooperating with the authorities.

In pretrial hearings in Sydney, three senior JPMorgan staffers said they began discussing possible immunity deals with the ACCC in 2016 and wrote witness statements months later.

Herbert-Smith said he first met the ACCC over the stock issue in March 2016, seven months after the capital raising, and agreed to provide a frank account of his role in it.

But he said he rejected an ACCC investigator’s suggestion that the three banks had colluded in a recorded phone call during the capital raising.

“I disagreed and stood my ground,” Herbert-Smith told a packed courtroom. “In relation to the part of the call (between the bankers) where people said they would stay out of the market of the day… it was not an agreement.” “It was three independent positions which happened to be the same,” he added.

The three investment banks and ANZ have declined to comment on the matter outside of what is said in court. Herbert-Smith left the bank in February 2016, according to his LinkedIn page.

JPMorgan’s Australian head of trading, Mark Dewar, also spoke at the hearing, describing more than a year of meetings with the ACCC over drafting the witness statement he signed.

In a meeting over three days in October 2016, Dewar, who still holds his position at JPMorgan, said ACCC staff showed him a draft on a screen “so everybody could see”. He said he gave notes verbally while an ACCC staffer wrote them down.

After several more meetings, he signed the statement in April 2017, he said.

“I probably needed a holiday after that,” he added.

The ACCC ultimately brought the charges in June 2018 against Citi, Deutsche and ANZ, and their former executives. All the banks have said they will defend themselves against the charges and declined to comment further on the case outside of court.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-banks-cartel/jpmorgan-banker-testifying-for-cartel-prosecutors-says-there-was-no-agreement-idUSKBN1YA08U

this guy still works at JP Morgan…'dis going nowhere.

big mistake relying on a still employed banker to rat out the other ones.

Repost from Q Research General #9521

>>7444392

Australia: Breaking up social media giants an option to deal with misinformation, Labor says

Exclusive: Wayne Swan to issue a call to arms for progressive parties globally to fight back against threats to democracy

The Australian Labor party’s national president, Wayne Swan, will issue a call to arms for progressive parties to fight back against misinformation proliferating on digital platforms, declaring nothing can be off the table “including breaking up the social media platforms where the concentration of their market power is damaging society”.

Swan will use a conference hosted by the Chifley Research Centre to foreshadow that over the next 12 months, the ALP will bring together a “coalition of centre-left and progressive parties from across the globe to drive this debate forward and take action to check the domination of firms such as Facebook”.

According to a copy of his speech seen by Guardian Australia, Swan will argue progressive and centre-left parties have been flatfooted in responding to the “disruption and chaos” that social media giants have enabled, “and we haven’t done enough to share our experiences and coordinate our responses across borders”.

Christian Porter calls for Facebook and Twitter to be treated as publishers

Read more

“2020 must be the year when we change this,” the party president will say.

Swan’s comments come as the Guardian reveals that an Israel-based group has covertly gained control of 21 popular far-right Facebook pages, using them in a coordinated way to deliver distorted and false information to more than 1m followers across the world.

The network has operated with relative impunity for more than two years, publishing more than one thousand posts a week, and disseminating large volumes of material in the lead-up to the May election that vilified Muslim politicians Anne Aly and Mehreen Faruqi, and promoted One Nation and Fraser Anning.

The intervention from Labor’s president also follows the establishment of a new select committee of the Australian parliament to examine foreign interference through social media. The committee will inquire into and report on the risks posed to Australia’s democracy by foreign interference through social media platforms – including Facebook, Twitter and WeChat – and report in the new year.

Swan in his speech to the Chifley conference will argue the conservative side of politics internationally is “smashing progressive political parties in organised social media, particularly under the radar communications disguised as political news or non-politically motivated views”.

He will say the rise of the digital platforms has created an environment where news consumers self-select information, which has “contributed to the rise of echo chambers and filter bubbles”.

“There’s no shared media experience any more, and misinformation can spread online quickly, easily and virtually unchallenged,” Swan will say.

“Secondly, hostile and bad-faith actors can weaponise controversial and misleading information at will to sow division and create chaos in our politics.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/06/breaking-up-social-media-giants-an-option-to-deal-with-misinformation-labor-says

Repost from Q Research General #9525

>>7448005

Bob Hawke's daughter makes explosive claim she was raped by a former minister and her father forced her to stay quiet as he feared a scandal would risk his chance of becoming Labor leader

Rosslyn Dillon claims her father begged her to stay quiet after she was raped

Once Australia's most beloved politician, Hawke feared it could derail his career

Her alleged attacker, Labor MP Bill Landeryou, was a close friend of Hawke

She fell pregnant and nearly had an abortion before learning he was infertile

Now a mother-of-two, she is making a $4 million bid for her late father's estate

The daughter of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke claimed she was raped by a Labor MP, but her father begged her to stay silent for the sake of his own political career.

Rosslyn Dillon alleged she was raped three times in the 1980s by Bill Landeryou, a close friend of Mr Hawke, who died in February.

But as she turned to her father for comfort, she said she was met with a 'shocking and hurtful' response as he pleaded with her to stay quiet.

He feared it could derail his political career when he was on the cusp of becoming Labor leader.

The explosive allegations came as Ms Dillon lodged a $4 million legal claim on much of her father's estate following his death in May.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7766671/Bob-Hawkes-daughter-claims-ordered-stay-quiet-raped-three-times-Labor-MP.html

New George Papadopoulos Tweets

Names to focus on for the report out this Monday:

1) Alexander Downer

2) Joseph Mifsud

3) Azra Turk

4) Chris Steele

5) Stefan Halper

6) UK government (Tobias Ellwood)

More

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1203418639677812737

—–

Alexander Downer has made a bizarre, and unfounded, claim and perpetuated a conspiracy theory that the Israelis were the ones who told him to spy on me in London. I think the Israelis would like to clarify this slander to the investigators looking into that clown.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1203436317448658944

Repost from Q Research General #9526

>>7448833 (pb)

The Assistance and Access Bill 2018: One year later

A bit technical and with a focus on Australia but has global (5 Eyes) implications for internet surveillance and the efforts of open-source projects like LOKI to protect us.

TOLA provides the legislative authority for agencies to create and install monitoring tools and other intrusive mechanisms into all kinds of software and hardware. For this iteration of the bill, these tools can only be switched on and used to target crimes with minimum sentences of 3 years or more. However, there is nothing to say that won’t change in the future, and very little juducial or public oversight is required by this bill in its current form. It is also extremely problematic that these tools will even exist in the first place. If they fall into the wrong hands, the effects will be devastating. The NSA in the US developed a range of surveillance techniques that were eventually leaked and used against American interests by criminals and foreign governments, and the same will likely happen here.

https://loki.network/2019/12/06/the-assistance-and-access-bill-one-year-later/

Repost from Q Research General #9528

>>7450218 (pb)

>Yossi Cohen

There seems to be a connection b/w Netanyahu & one Australian Billionaire James Packer (pics 1 & 2).

https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-meet-the-netanyahus-new-gambling-mogul-friend-1.5374456

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-between-trumps-treasury-pick-and-billionaire-at-center-of-netanyahu-scandal-1.5468112

Yossi Cohen in 2016 was under fire for having used favors (like $1000s worth of Mariah Carey concert tickets) from that Packer guy (pic3).

https://stocknewsusa.com/2016/12/15/israel-foreign-intelligence-service-chairman-yossi-cohen-bribed-tickets-mariah-careys-show/

Repost from Q Research General #9535

>>7455857 (pb)

The sex slaves issue has been a source of a painful dispute between South Korea and Japan. The women were from Korea, Taiwan and Australia, the Philippines as well as Japan.

"historical documents"

https://twitter.com/starsandstripes/status/1203581225161699330

Repost from Q Research General #9539

>>7458523 (pb)

Global manhunt for Australian human rights advocate accused of running a sick child sex ring from his Kings Cross 'refuge' centre for homeless boys

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7768981/Human-rights-advocate-Simon-Davies-accused-sexually-abusing-dozens-young-boys-care.html

The journalist and author had become a high-profile figure for his humanitarian work as well as his efforts to overturn Australia's controversial national ID card proposal in the late 1980s.

Police have since launched an international manhunt for Davies after an eight-year investigation found he had allegedly run a sordid sex trafficking ring within the shelter over a six-year period.

Australia may figure in new Trump-Russia report

Australia’s role in what US President Donald Trump has dubbed “The Russia Hoax” could be further revealed when a long-awaited watchdog report is released.

US Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz will release a report on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) examining the FBI’s handling of the 2016 investigation into the Trump election campaign and potential links to Russia.

It was a May, 2016, bar meeting in London between then Australian high commissioner to the UK, Alexander Downer, and former Trump campaign foreign relations adviser, George Papadopoulos, that sparked the FBI investigation.

Mr Trump has claimed FBI officials were biased and working against him ahead of his November, 2016, election victory over Hillary Clinton.

The president predicted last month Mr Horowitz’s report would unearth “perhaps the biggest scandal in the history of our country”, but leaks to The Washington Post and other publications in recent days point to the opposite.

The watchdog found political bias did not influence the federal investigation, according to the reports.

Mr Horowitz also reportedly concluded the FBI had enough evidence to justify a foreign intelligence warrant to conduct surveillance of another former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page.

Mr Trump and supporters are expected to latch on to Mr Horowitz’s findings that some FBI agents and lawyers involved in the probe acted in careless and unprofessional ways.

Mr Papadopoulous has alleged the FBI was part of an anti-Trump international espionage conspiracy involving the Australian intelligence, CIA, MI6,Turkish operatives, Mr Downer and a colourful bunch of characters including mysterious Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud.

Mr Trump has called for Australia’s role to be investigated and key Republicans have supported Mr Papadopolous’ claims.

The Australian government, Mr Downer, former director of US national intelligence James Clapper and other figures have rejected the claims.

Mr Downer said Mr Papadopoulos told him at the London bar meeting Russia had damaging material on Ms Clinton.

Mr Papadopoulos said he did not mention anything about Russian dirt on Mrs Clinton to Mr Downer.

Mr Horowitz’s report is being viewed by Trump supporters as only a prelude to another investigation led by US Attorney General William Barr and US Attorney for Connecticut John Durham.

Mr Trump called Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in September to ask for a point of contact between the Australian government and Mr Barr to help with the probe.

Australian Ambassador to the US Joe Hockey confirmed Australia was cooperating.

In October Mr Hockey publicly rebuked senior US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham’s claim Mr Downer was “directed” in 2016 to contact Mr Papadopoulos and pass the Russian dirt information to the FBI.

Mr Horowitz’s report will be released at the same time the Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee continues impeachment hearings into Mr Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

“I.G. report out tomorrow. That will be the big story!” Mr Trump tweeted on Sunday.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/2019/12/09/australia-may-figure-in-new-trump-russia-report/

Repost from Q Research General #9541

>>7460119 (pb)

>>7459890 (pb)

Interdasting that Q chose to use boomerang, an Aussie term, in description of what is to come.

One of Hussein's early college galfriends was a daughter of an Australian diplomat (top spook).

According to the on-the-record record.

See:

Her father, the Geelong Grammarian Michael Cook, was a career diplomat appointed by Malcolm Fraser as top spook – director-general of the Office of National Assessments – and who became ambassador in Washington.

Her mother, Helen Ibbitson, came from a Melbourne banking family and was an art historian.

Soon after a Jakarta posting they divorced and their daughter went to the US where her mother had married Philip Jessup, counsel to the National Gallery of Art.

She completed secondary education at Emma Willard School, the gothic, private and academically rigorous prep school for young women in Troy, New York State, before attending college in Philadelphia and New York.

In 1983 she was an assistant teacher for second and third graders at Brooklyn Friends School when she met the POTUS-to-be.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/obamas-australian-girlfriend-revealed-20120503-1y27y.html

And who features in Spygate but another from Down Under.

Or should we say from Downer?

Like FISA, FVEY works both ways, Anons.

Repost from Q Research General #9543

>>7461684 (pb)

Unprecedented trial of ‘secret prisoner’ in Australia raises legal questions

https://intelnews.org/2019/12/09/01-2683/

New George Papadopoulos Tweet

We will soon be learning why the Australian government made contact with me on April 20th, why Mifsud then drops the “email info” to me April 26th, why the DIA makes contact May 4th, the Australians again May 10th to “retrieve” Mifsud’s info. Australia conspired against the USA!

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1204220026141605888

William Barr accuses FBI of using tip-off by Australia as ‘thinnest’ excuse to start Russia probe

Donald Trump’s Attorney General William Barr has accused the FBI of using a tip-off provided by Australia as the “thinnest’’ excuse to start the Russia investigation.

But Mr Barr praised Australia’s role, saying the move by former Australian High Commissioner to the UK, Alexander Downer to tip-off the US about information he had obtained was the act of a close ally.

Speaking after the release of a report by the Justice Department’s Inspector General, Mr Barr attacked the FBI saying it was “clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a US presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions that, in my view, were insufficient to justify the steps taken’’.

His views contrasted with the mixed conclusions of the 435-page report by Inspector General Michael Horowitz which found that the FBI was justified in starting the Russia investigation on the basis of information provided by Mr Downer.

It also found no evidence of political bias in the investigation but it did find ‘serious performance failures’ in the surveillance of a Trump aide.

“That so many basic and fundamental errors were made by three separate, hand-picked teams on one of the most sensitive FBI investigations that was briefed to the highest levels within the FBI … and that FBI officials expected would eventually be subjected to raised significant questions regarding the FBI chain of command’s management and supervision of the FISA process,” the report said, referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The report confirms that the Russia investigation started in July 2016 after Mr Downer told the US about his meeting with a then foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign George Papadopoulos in a London wine bar in May 2016.

In that meeting Mr Papadopoulos told Mr Downer that Russia had numerous emails that could damage Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton.

Mr Downer reported the information to Canberra within days but it was only after Wikileaks released a flood of Russian-hacked Democrat emails in July that Mr Downer decided to report the information directly to the US.

“I want to emphasise that this FFG did the right thing in supplying that information; the FFG has acted at all times just as we would hope a close ally would,’’ Mr Barr said, referring to Mr Downer by the term FFG meaning Friendly Foreign Government. “We are grateful that we have such friends. What was subsequently done with that information by the FBI presents a separate question.” he said

The report reveals for the first time reveals what Mr Downer told the US about his now meeting with Mr Papadopoulos in a London wine bar in May 2016.

In a statement to the US embassy in London in July 2016 Mr Downer wrote that Mr Papadopoulos “suggested the Trump team had received some kind of suggestion from Russia that it could assist this process with the anonymous release of information during the campaign that would be damaging to Mrs Clinton (and President Obama)’’.

“It was unclear whether he or the Russians were referring to material acquired publicly of [sic] through other means. It was also unclear how Mr. Trump’s team reacted to the offer. We note the Trump team’s reaction could, in the end, have little bearing of what Russia decides to do, with or without Mr. Trump’s cooperation,” Mr Downer wrote.

The FBI initiated the Russia inquiry only days after it received the information from Mr Downer.

Mr Downer’s role has been the subject of conspiracy theories after Mr Papadopolous and others accused him of being a pro-Clinton spy working to establish links between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Even Mr Trump appeared to be open to claims that Australia was involved in a broader anti-Trump conspiracy when he said in May that he hoped Attorney General William Barr would examine Australia’s role amongst others.

“I hope he looks at the UK, and I hope he looks at Australia, and I hope he looks at Ukraine. I hope he looks at everything because there was a hoax that was perpetrated on our country,’’ Mr Trump said.

(continued)

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/us-justice-department-makes-no-criticism-of-alexander-downer-for-triggering-russia-probe/news-story/c6bf7d375093fa3e209843711769425c

>>7470777

John Durham’s Investigators ‘Do Not Agree’ with DOJ IG’s Findings on Origin of Russia Probe

U.S. Attorney John Durham issued a rare statement in the wake of the release of DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s Monday report, stating that his office does “not agree with” the report’s conclusions regarding the origins of the FBI’s 2016 Russia probe.

“I have the utmost respect for the mission of the Office of Inspector General and the comprehensive work that went into the report prepared by Mr. Horowitz and his staff,” Durham’s statement reads. “However, our investigation is not limited to developing information from within component parts of the Justice Department.”

“Our investigation has included developing information from other persons and entities, both in the U.S. and outside of the U.S. Based on the evidence collected to date, and while our investigation is ongoing, last month we advised the Inspector General that we do not agree with some of the report’s conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened,” Durham’s statement concludes.

Horwitz’s report, released Monday, ascertained that the FBI had an “authorized purpose” for opening its investigation – contradicting President Trump and his allies, who routinely cast the entire investigation as a partisan “witch hunt” – but also found “significant inaccuracies and omissions” in the FBI’s FISA application to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Durham’s statement, however, challenges the report’s assertion that the FBI was acting properly in opening its investigation because it received information from a “Friendly Foreign Government” (FFG) that former Trump campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos received dirt on Hillary Clinton from Russia.

“Given the low threshold for predication in the AG Guidelines and the DIOG, we concluded that the FFG information, provided by a government the United States Intelligence Community (USIC) deems trustworthy, and describing a first-hand account from an FFG employee of a conversation with Papadopoulos, was sufficient to predicate the investigation,” the report states. “This information provided the FBI with an articulable factual basis that, if true, reasonably indicated activity constituting either a federal crime or a threat to national security, or both, may have occurred or may be occurring.”

It’s unclear which government the report is referencing, but in May 2016 former Australian diplomat Alexander Downer sent a memo to the FBI in which he relayed Papadopoulos’s claim that Russian intelligence planned to release damaging information about Hillary Clinton ahead of the election, a claim that Papadopoulos heard from Maltese academic and alleged Russian asset Joseph Mifsud, who had met previously with Papadopoulos.

Papadopoulos was found guilty of lying to Robert Mueller’s investigators about contacts he had with Mifsud, although Downer said that his memo did not indicate that Papadopoulos or anyone else on the Trump campaign had coordinated with Russia to obtain the information.

“There was no suggestion — [neither] from Papadopoulos nor in the record of the meeting that we sent back to Canberra — there was no suggestion that there was collusion between Donald Trump or Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russians,” Downer said.

Papadopoulos has publicly speculated that Downer was working with Joseph Mifsud — a Maltese academic who reached out to him claiming to have access to damaging information about Clinton — to entrap him and damage the Trump campaign.

Durham, the Connecticut U.S. attorney appointed by attorney general William P. Barr to lead a DOJ probe into the origins of the Russia investigation, spoke to Downer last month as part of the probe, which has been upgraded to a criminal inquiry.

In October, Barr defended Durham and the probe after criticism from Democratic lawmakers.

“He’s a 35-year veteran of the department, great reputation for non-partisanship. He was selected by two Democratic attorney generals to do sensitive investigations for them,” Barr said of Durham, the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut. “He’s a by-the-book kind of guy. He’s thorough and fair, and I’m confident he’s going to get to the bottom of things.”

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/john-durhams-investigators-do-not-agree-with-doj-igs-findings-on-origin-of-russia-probe/

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/statement-us-attorney-john-h-durham

>>7470777

Alexander Downer Tweet

I’m not going to comment!

https://twitter.com/AlexanderDowner/status/1204386092117643264

>>7470703

>>7478943

Fact:

I testified against Alexander Downer, the Clinton errand boy Australian diplomat, to BOTH the FBI and Congress for suspicions of spying on me. The Australians were there to sabotage Trump and even with their effort, AG states no real predicate! IG doesn’t have all facts.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1204806724386873345

Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton Criticizes Social Media CEOs for Failing to Stop Online Child Abuse

Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has labeled social media bosses “morally bankrupt” for failing to stop online child abuse and exploitation.

Dutton savaged tech titans for pushing back against his repeated calls to give police and intelligence agencies greater access to encrypted messages.

“You get CEOs of these companies who are making billions of dollars but they’re morally bankrupt,” the home affairs minister told Sydney radio 2GB on Thursday.

Dutton has accused social media giants including Google, Facebook and Apple of protecting pedophiles since as early as October and promised to “shame” companies into changing their ways. He and security ministers from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance—comprising the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand—have been demanding tech giants to grant law enforcement backdoor access to encrypted content.

Facebook has been blamed for nearly two-thirds of the 18.4 million worldwide reports of child sexual abuse material last year.

Dutton has consistently argued children should be afforded the same protections online that they are in the general public.

“At the moment, these companies just aren’t living up to what I think is a reasonable community expectation and the police are frustrated,” he said.

In October, Dutton told 2GB radio, “These companies are really pushing back but we’ve got to stand up to them because the rules that apply in our towns and cities should apply online.

“If you’ve got a photograph of a child being sexually abused, the police can see that with a warrant, but if you send that picture as an attachment on an encrypted messaging app then police can’t discover it.

“It doesn’t make sense because we can stop children becoming victim to a paedophile,” Dutton said.

“We can’t allow the proliferation online that’s taking place and it’s doubled in the last 12 months.

“The number of cases where this child abuse material is being shared online—there are groups where pedophiles are meeting online, protected by these companies—it can’t stand.”

Australia continues to work closely with the United States and Britain to clamp down on digital platforms.

“Hopefully they will change their ways,” Dutton told 2GB on Thursday. “If not, we’ll have to legislate to deal with them.”

The home affairs minister is heading to Washington as he continues his crusade against the circulation of child pornography.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/australian-home-affairs-minister-peter-dutton-criticizes-social-media-ceos-for-failing-to-stop-online-child-abuse_3172120.html

Australia to develop code of conduct for the likes of Facebook, Google

SYDNEY (BLOOMBERG) - Australia will boost the resources of the competition regulator and review privacy laws in an effort to rein in the market dominance of digital giants such as Google and Facebook.

A special unit will be set up within the competition watchdog to monitor digital platforms, starting with a focus on online advertising, Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government said on Thursday (Dec 12).

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will work on a voluntary code of practice to address "bargaining power imbalances" between digital platforms and news media companies. And the government will review the Privacy Act to ensure "privacy settings empower consumers, protect their data and best serve the Australian economy".

The government was responding to a sweeping report published earlier this year by the ACCC that called for a regulatory crackdown on technology giants and recommended penalties and deterrents be imposed for inappropriate storage and use of personal data.

Mr Morrison did not address many of the 23 recommendations made by the competition watchdog, and his government said that more time was needed to consider such complex issues.

"I want us to be the model jurisdiction in the world for how we are dealing with digital platforms," Mr Morrison told reporters. "We have regulation and restrictions that were written for an analog economy. If it's wrong in the real world, it's wrong in the digital world."

Regulators worldwide have been trying to loosen the tech giants' grip on everything from advertising and search engines, to news, data and elections.

Facebook, the world's largest social media company is grappling with a mushrooming list of challenges, including federal and state antitrust investigations, criticism of its handling of users' personal information, and dissatisfaction with its treatment of political content.

In July, Facebook agreed to pay US$5 billion (S$6.8 billion) to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - the largest privacy fine in the agency's history - to resolve the Cambridge Analytica data scandal in which a consulting firm hired by United States President Donald Trump's campaign obtained data without users' knowledge from a researcher who created a personality quiz app on the social network.

Google was also fined by the FTC to settle claims that it violated children's privacy on its YouTube platform.

In September, a nationwide group of US states opened an investigation into whether Google's advertising practices violate antitrust laws, targeting the heart of the search giant's business.

The ACCC has previously laid bare the control that Alphabet Inc-owned Google and Facebook exert over Australia's 25 million-strong population. At least 94 per cent of online searches in Australia go through Google, the watchdog said in December last year. And each month, 17 million locals access Facebook, 17 million watch Google-owned YouTube, and 11 million access Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.

Among its recommendations, the ACCC called for merger laws to be updated to recognise the importance of data and for stronger action against copyright infringement.

"The government's role is not to protect domestic businesses from digital competition, but rather to ensure the proper functioning of markets and a fair approach to regulation that ensures the rules of the physical world apply equally to the digital world," Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said. While some of the ACCC's recommendations will be acted on immediately, "others will need further consideration and engagement given the complexity of the issues and the potential to have economy-wide effects".

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/australianz/australia-to-develop-code-of-conduct-for-likes-of-facebook-google

Brian Houston, Christian worship leaders pray for Trump, visit Oval Office

A group of Christian worship artists and faith leaders, including Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston, prayed for President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Friday.

The musicians and ministry leaders participated in a worship service and visited the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room, where they prayed for the president and took part in a policy briefing on what the administration is doing to help the faith community and religious freedom.

Attendees included the 65-year-old Houston; Bethel Music founders Brian and Jenn Johnson; Grammy-nominee Kari Jobe; her husband, Cody Carnes; Trump’s faith adviser, Paula White; and Sean Feucht, a Bethel worship leader running for congress in California.

Vice President Mike Pence also attended parts of the briefing.

"Wonderful stopping by a worship leaders briefing today at the @WhiteHouse!" Pence wrote in a tweet. "America is a proud Nation of believers and our Administration will always defend the freedom of religion of every American, of every faith!"

The event comes after questions were raised in September about whether or not the White House refused to invite the Sydney-based megachurch leader, Houston, to a state dinner with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Houston is regarded as Morrison’s faith “mentor.”

Houston was investigated for allegations that he failed to report his father’s sexual abuse of children in his church.

“Here I am at the White House. Never say never,” Houston said in an Instagram video filmed outside of the White House. “It is a great honor to go into the Cabinet Room and even into the Oval Office to pray for the president of the United States of America.”

“To me, it is not about politics. It is about the position,” Houston continued. “[A]nd a significant man like the president of the United States could use all the prayer we could possibly give him.”

Houston was also featured in a video posted to the White House’s Twitter page.

“As an Australian, I really believe that we need a strong America in the world,” Houston said. “With America strong, the world is a better place. What a great opportunity its been to see some of the initiatives that are happening to help freedom of religion and to see the great spirit generally in the White House with people who are optimistic about the future.”

(continued)

https://www.christianpost.com/news/brian-houston-christian-worship-leaders-pray-for-trump-visit-oval-office.html

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5vyOEJHCkT/

https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1204134076577406976

'There is no deep state': US senators battle over Downer meeting

Los Angeles: Alexander Downer's infamous London bar meeting with former Donald Trump adviser George Papadopoulos is at the centre of a fiery US Senate committee hearing in Washington DC.

Republican and Democrat members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are grilling Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz about his report into the FBI's handling of the 2016 probe into potential links between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Trump and political allies claim the FBI was biased, and Papadopoulos has alleged former Australian high commissioner to the UK Downer and Australian intelligence were part of a deep state plot against him and the Trump campaign.

Horowitz found no proof of that and said the FBI was right to start the probe.

The investigation began after Downer told a US official Papadopoulos had suggested at the May 2016 bar meeting that Russia may have dirt on Trump's presidential rival Hillary Clinton.

"The inspector general confirmed there was an adequate predicate - meaning a legitimate factual and legal basis to investigate," the Democrat's ranking committee member Dianne Feinstein told the hearing on Wednesday.

"This report confirms the FBI opened the investigation after being told by Australia - a trusted foreign ally - that Trump adviser George Papadopoulos had learned in 2016, the month of April, Russia had and was willing to release information during the campaign that would be damaging to candidate (Hillary) Clinton.

"The IG report found this information provided the FBI with the factual basis that if true indicated activity constituting either a federal crime or threat to national security or both may have occurred."

The committee's Republican chairman Lindsey Graham ripped into the FBI's handling of the Russia investigation.

"What happened here is not a few irregularities," Senator Graham said.

"What happened here is the system failed.

"People at the highest level of our government took the law in their own hands."

Senator Feinstein blasted the "deep state" claims made by Trump and allies.

"He has used this to dismiss the entire investigation as a witch hunt and hoax," she said.

"The IG report conclusively refutes these claims.

"This was not a politically motivated investigation.

"There is no deep state.

"Simply put, the FBI investigation was motivated by facts not bias."

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/there-is-no-deep-state-us-senators-battle-over-downer-meeting-20191212-p53j6b.html

Repost from Q Research General #9565

>>7478838 (pb)

Australia's Adelaide Airport terminal evacuated due to security alert

https://twitter.com/SputnikInt/status/1204623698378067968

Repost from Q Research General #9566

>>7479302 (pb)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7779829/Virginia-Roberts-posts-chilling-Twitter-message-claiming-Im-not-suicidal.html

Repost from Q Research General #9572

>>7483929 (pb)

Australia Westpac chair says board "devastated" by money laundering claims

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-westpac-shareholders-idUSKBN1YF2KX

Repost from Q Research General #9575

>>7486313 (pb)

Australian Prime Minister unveils 'world-leading' regulation of tech giants

The federal government has announced "world-leading" changes to the regulation of tech giants, putting the companies on notice over their business models, treatment of users and dealings with traditional media outlets.

Responding to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) landmark digital platforms inquiry, the government committed to a series of reforms to address the tech giants' market power, boost transparency and ensure fair competition.

The competition and consumer watchdog will have a new dedicated unit, with enforcement powers, to investigate the activities of digital platforms. Under the direction of Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, the unit's first priority will be inquiring into the tech companies' advertising technology and algorithms.

The government committed to addressing concerns about the bargaining power imbalance between tech giants and media businesses, directing the ACCC to lead development of a code of conduct to ensure fair dealings between the companies. The government will step in with a mandatory intervention if it is not satisfied with progress made next year, warning the tech companies need to "do more" to be transparent about the impact of their operations.

Announcing the reform package on Thursday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government wanted to protect consumers and competition with the "world-leading" reforms while ensuring Australia had a successful digital economy.

"I want us to be the model jurisdiction in the world for how we are dealing with digital platforms, social media platforms," he said. "And I have a simple rule: the rules that apply in the real world should apply in the digital world."

He said he wanted a "level playing field" for all companies.

"We have regulation and systems that were written for an analog economy and I want Australia to be one of the most, if not the most, successful digital economy in the world," he said.

Mr Frydenberg said the intent was "not only to minimise the harm but to maximise the opportunities" for the economy.

"The companies are on notice. The government is not messing around. We will not hesitate to act," he said.

As part of efforts to address the complex issue of harmonising regulation across old and new forms of media, the government will look at uniform classification rules and Australian content rules for streaming services.

Responding to the announcement, tech industry body DIGI said it recognised the importance of protecting consumer privacy and competition in the news media.

"We'll be studying the proposals in detail to ensure that the consumer protections are fit for a digital era, and that there are no unintended consequences for Australia's digital future, economic growth and global competitiveness," DIGI managing director Sunita Bose said.

She said modernised media laws would need to recognise "some of the fundamental differences between digital products and media businesses".

Mia Garlick, Australia and New Zealand policy director for Facebook, said the company's focus was on "achieving economy-wide privacy protection, data portability and a user-focused digital news distribution code, while preserving the many benefits that technology delivers in this country".

Hugh Marks, chief executive of Nine, owner of this masthead, said the government had provided a "clear timeline and platform for our industry to be able to engage with the social media platforms on a basis we ultimately believe will be a win-win not only for our industry and the people that work in it, but the social platforms as well".

Mr Marks highlighted the importance of recognising the "value that our content and our journalism means to the social platforms and their audiences".

The sprawling reform process will include some rapid changes but the government cautioned that "others will need further consideration and engagement given the complexity of the issues and the potential to have whole-of-economy effects".

The government has rejected some of competition tsar Rod Sims' 23 recommendations, including tax incentives to encourage support for public interest journalism.

The ACCC also recommended toughening merger laws to prevent deals that would significantly damage competition. In a cautious response, the government said it would start a broad consultation on the proposal next year.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/morrison-government-unveils-world-leading-privacy-competition-regulation-of-tech-giants-20191212-p53j8r.html

Repost from Q Research General #9576

>>7486748 (pb)

Australia's Westpac 'shattered' over money laundering bombshell

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) said it was “shattered” by a money laundering lawsuit over payments it unwittingly facilitated among suspected child exploiters and apologised to all affected as it faced a fire storm of shareholder criticism on Thursday. “We are shattered by what has happened,” Chairman Lindsay Maxsted told about 600 investors at the annual shareholder meeting in Sydney of Australia’s second-biggest bank. “It’s a total anathema to what we stand for,” added Maxsted, who brought forward his retirement in light of the scandal.

Westpac was sued three weeks ago by Australian regulators who cited 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering laws, in the country’s biggest ever such scandal. Westpac has said it accepts most of the regulator’s assertions, and its chief executive and compliance head have quit. The bombshell lawsuit, as the country was still digesting a damaging financial misconduct inquiry, has sent Westpac’s shares down 9% in the three weeks since it was announced, wiping A$8.6 billion off its market value. The bank could pay a fine of more than A$1 billion (529 million pounds), analysts have said. The stock was down another 1% in morning trade on Thursday, while the broader Australian market was down 0.6%.

“All of us are members and owners of a company that, even at the best, you could say accidentally allowed child abuse to go on for five years,” said Chris Schott, a former Australian senator, at the meeting in his capacity as a shareholder. “How the hell did this go on for five years? It’s inconceivable someone didn’t have the wit to think something was wrong,” added Schott, who told the meeting he voted for the establishment of AUSTRAC during his time in office. In light of the money laundering matter, Westpac could see investors vote later in the meeting against its proposals on executive pay and the re-election of a long-serving director.

But Australia’s oldest and second-largest bank is unlikely to see its board ousted at the annual shareholders’ meeting as institutional investors are not in favour of such a move, investors and analysts said. A vote against the pay proposals for top executives would make Westpac the biggest Australian company where such proposals have been rejected for two years in a row. Under Australian law, if more than a quarter of shareholders vote against a company’s executive pay at back-to-back annual meetings, they may hold another vote at the meeting to remove the whole board. That “board spill” motion requires support from 50%.

Fund managers say more than a quarter of shareholders may vote against Westpac’s executive pay because of grassroots outrage over the payments scandal, but institutional investors will use their muscle to prevent a board spill. “We acknowledge we should have implemented more robust transaction monitoring earlier than we did. This would have generated more suspicious matter reports to AUSTRAC,” Maxsted said earlier in prepared remarks. He said the company would withhold all or part of its executive bonuses for 2019, subject to an assessment of accountability for the transactions at the heart of the AUSTRAC lawsuit.

Asked at the meeting whether the board would indeed forego fees this year, Maxsted said “we will act in the best interests of the company.”

That drew a barrage of “just go” responses from a number of shareholders, with another later shouting, “You’re asleep at the wheel, mate”.

Maxsted was also asked whether the board could guarantee the bank’s interim dividend would not be reduced. “I can say when we reset the dividend we felt that in relation to how much more difficult the environment is for banking then the payout ratio was too high,” he said. “We have been trying to preserve that … but the decision was taken because of the impact on profitability.”

Issues on the agenda on Thursday included a vote on the re-election of director Peter Marriott, who had been on the board since 2013 when the payments at the centre of the scandal began.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-westpac-shareholders/australias-westpac-shattered-over-money-laundering-bombshell-idUKKBN1YG0BY

23 million violations of banking/anit-money laundering laws and you are sorry…..

Repost from Q Research General #9577

>>7487607 (pb)

How about a nice cruise? See a volcano?

Royal Caribbean has a history of putting its passengers in harms way…

"Authorities say 24 Australians, nine Americans, five New Zealanders, four Germans, two Britons, two Chinese and a Malaysian were visiting the island at the time of the eruption. Many were from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that had left Sydney two days earlier."

https://apnews.com/45500ef7901a4aa8ed523009cbc1945c

Repost from Q Research General #9579

>>7489488 (pb)

Australian water sold for $490m to foreign company during drought

A multi-billion dollar Singaporean food company is selling 89,000 megalitres of Australian water to a Canadian pension fund.

The mega sale of Australian permanent water rights comes as the country is crippled by one of the worst droughts in its history.

On Tuesday, NSW brought in a complete ban on hoses as part of the toughest water restrictions implemented for more than a decade.

But no such problem existed for food and agriculture giant Olam International, which sold the 89billion litres of permanent water rights for an astonishing $490 million.

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/75703/australian-water-sold-for-490m-to-foreign-company-during.html

Repost from Q Research General #9582

>>7491430 (pb)

Australia to Spend $715 Million Upgrading Port to Accommodate More US Navy Ships

Canberra is preparing to shell out $715 million to upgrade naval facilities in Australia’s Northern Territory to accommodate more US warships, according to a report by the US military-linked publication Stars and Stripes.

Stars and Stripes reported Thursday, citing comments made to them by Australian defense officials, that the Australian Department of Defense intended to spend $715 million to upgrade the naval base HMAS Coonawarra and the surrounding Larrakeyah Defense Precinct in the northwestern city of Darwin.

Then-Australian Minister for Defense Senator Marise Payne announced part of the deal last year: a $495 million plan to upgrade Larrakeyah’s infrastructure and add a second 250-meter-long wharf better able to accomodate landing helicopter docks (LHDs), a type of helicopter carrier that can also dispatch amphibious assault vehicles, Australian Defense Magazine reported.

Also included in the bill are associated refueling and other facilities as well as base infrastructure expansion. All the upgrades are expected to be complete by 2023, according to the Australian Department of Defense web page on the project.

Another $223 million is also set aside for maintenance and to support further growth over the next 25 years, according to the DoD. Stars and Stripes also noted that $88.65 million will go toward upgrading maintenance facilities at Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin.

However, the upgraded ports will benefit Australia’s naval forces, too, with Coonawarra able to berth six of the country’s 12 new Arafura-class patrol boats.

Sputnik reported earlier on the Pentagon’s plans to spend $8 billion over the next decade upgrading its own facilities in Northern Territory, which is the closest part of Australia to China, the South China Sea and the vulnerable sea lanes connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The US Marine Corps presence in the Northern Territory has steadily increased in recent years, reaching its peak planned strength of 2,500 this past summer. US troops use the dry and sparsely populated territory to test out maneuvers, including live firing of weaponry like HIMARS rockets.

Several US warships have called to port in the northern city in the last year, according to Stars and Stripes, including the guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale, the anti-mine ship USS Patriot and submarine tender USS Emory S. Land.

Between the perceived unreliability of the US and the continuing rise of China, Australia has in recent years embarked on an ambitious military buildup that has included not only purchasing long-range spy drones from Washington, but also an unprecedented naval expansion and even weighing the question of acquiring nuclear weapons.

According to a 2017 plan laid out by the Department of Defense, Canberra has set aside $65.3 billion for warship construction and another $1 billion for shipyard upgrades; the plans include two LHDs, 12 new submarines and nine new frigates.

Binoy Kampmark, senior lecturer at the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, told Sputnik that “Australia is being asked to perform a deputy policing role in the Asia-Pacific region, one it has traditionally performed for its US allies.”

https://sputniknews.com/asia/201912121077557845-australia-to-spend-715-million-upgrading-port-to-accommodate-more-us-navy-ships—report/

Royal Australian Mint reveals hidden phrase on ASIO 50c piece

At first glance it looks just like a regular 50c piece, but there’s actually a sneaky hidden code on one very unique Australian coin.

The Royal Australian Mint has finally revealed the secret message hidden on a “unique and exciting” Aussie coin.

In September this year, the Mint made history after releasing the first Aussie coin featuring a secret code.

The groundbreaking new 50c coin was launched to mark the 70th anniversary of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and was released at the same time as the Mint’s “Coincryption” competition, which celebrated the secret and elusive world of spies and espionage.

Each coin featured an encrypted message – similar to those used during the Cold War – and if you were able to decode it, you were eligible to score a one-of-a-kind ASIO coin.

They came with a “one-time pad” that was previously used by the Soviet intelligence service, the KGB, to crack secret messages.

People who bought a coin were able to enter the encrypted code into the online Coincryption competition, which closed earlier this month, to be in the running to win the only ASIO-designed coin in history.

“The Royal Australian Mint is honoured to commemorate the last seven decades of ASIO’s important work with the very first coin produced by the Mint featuring an encrypted code similar to that used by operatives during the Cold War,” Royal Australian Mint CEO Ross MacDiarmid said in a statement at the time.

The Mint has now finally revealed the secret message on the coin.

“There is no greater honour than the trust of the Australian people or weightier burden than protecting the security of Australia and its people,” the code reads.

Mr MacDiarmid said the release had been a hit with coin enthusiasts.

“The Royal Australian Mint is thrilled to share yet another unique coin release and exciting competition that resonates with the Australian public, further engaging interest in the age-old hobby of coin collecting while commemorating seven decades of ASIO,” he said.

The winner of the competition has also been named as Queenslander Andrew Olsson, who beat 1000 other entrants.

Mike Burgess, the director-general of security at ASIO, congratulated Mr Olsson on the win and agreed the coin’s release had been a success.

“Congratulations to Andrew for decoding ASIO’s secret message. Well done. It’s exciting to see so much interest in ASIO, our 70th anniversary, and the commemorative coin.”

The 20,000 available coins were sold for $10 each.

According to the Mint, poor encryption practices during the post-World War II era allowed the Five Eyes allies to decrypt some of the KGB cables under Operation Venona, revealing the presence of a Soviet spy ring active in Australia and prompting the United Kingdom to urge Australia to establish a security service, leading to the establishment of ASIO in 1949.

It was designed to protect Australia’s national security as well as the security of our close allies.

https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/royal-australian-mint-reveals-hidden-phrase-on-asio-50c-piece/news-story/dd27b322eeb1d7239766aa19896b8ef6

New Q post from Q Research General #9606

>>7510045 (pb)

>>7509863 (pb)

What if other AG equivalent(s) in foreign countries are also currently investigating use of their intel apparatus for illegal purposes?

WAS THE CoC FOLLOWED?

Huber.

DOJ plane(s).

CF.

Q

Australian election strategist Isaac Levido hailed for Conservative victory

He helped Scott Morrison to a surprise victory, now he’s delivered a knockout for Boris Johnson. Meet the 36 year old Aussie Brits can’t get enough of.

Just after 10pm on Thursday when the UK election exit poll was published, the mood inside Conservative headquarters erupted.

Staffers hugged and sang Queen’s We are the Champions and chanted the name of Australian political strategist, Isaac Levido, to the tune of the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army.

After internal polls had shown they were on track for a 28 seat win, the 86 seat majority forecast was beyond their wildest dreams.

In reality, the Conservatives scored 365 seats - a majority of 80 in their best result in more than 30 years.

In the hours since, Conservative leaders have paid tribute to the quiet-spoken 36-year-old Aussie who oversaw Boris Johnson’s campaign

British Education Minister Gavin Williamson told The Australian said Mr Levido had displayed “brilliance and iron discipline”.

“Australians continue to play a major role and have a big influence in British politics,” he said.

Australia’s High Commissioner in London, George Brandis, said it was a “great result for Australia” that could see a free-trade deal between Britain and Australia.

“Unlike most British elections, this one has changed not just British history but European history too,” he told the paper.

“The long national nightmare is over; an issue that has torn Britain asunder for years has finally been decisively resolved.’’

A senior Conservative told the Daily Mail: “Isaac showed real leadership throughout the campaign – he never panicked, lifted spirits on difficult days and had a laser focus on the end result.”

“He quickly gained the trust of everyone around him and deserves all the plaudits for an extremely well-run and disciplined campaign.”

Mr Levido grew up in Port Macquarie before working for Australian political guru Sir Lynton Crosby’s office in Washington. He is also reported to have worked on campaigns for former UK Prime Minster David Cameron and most recently, helped secure Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s victory over Labour’s Bill Shorten in May.

In October, he was drafted in to work for the Conservatives with powerful Boris Johnson aide Dominic Cummings deferring to the young Aussie on campaign matters, while he took up residence in a “god pod” of central desks in Tory HQ.

Campaign insiders said decisions were made quickly and bad ideas instantly dropped, as the party made sure not to repeat the mistakes of Theresa May’s campaign in 2017.

Onward think tank director Will Tanner said Mr Levido’s campaign was characterised by “discipline and grit”.

The Conservative social media strategy was run with the help of two New Zealanders Sean Topham, 28, and Ben Guerin, 24, known collectively as the “meme machine”, according to the New Statesman.

Their company, Topham Guerin, is just three years old and worked on Scott Morrison’s victory in Australia as well as the with the young Nationals’ in New Zealand. The controversial pair is famed for their ruthless approach to social media that involves producing deliberately low-tech memes to appear to the baby boomer generation, or chopping up interview footage to distort the meaning.

In the UK election, Facebook banned a Conservative Party campaign ad that distorted the words of BBC Political editor Laura Kuenssberg and News anchor Huw Edwards.

The party was also subject to complaints about using a “fact check” Twitter handle during a live debate for a Conservative Party twitter feed.

https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/australian-election-strategist-isaac-levido-hailed-for-conservative-victory/news-story/553d3fdd5f4228b90b8deb3946dafd56

London calling: Boris Johnson talks trade with Scott Morrison

Boris Johnson has said he will make a free-trade deal between Australia and Britain a top priority as Scott Morrison hailed the landslide election victory for the Conservative Party as a silent rejection of progressives and socialist “arrogance” sweeping across Western democracies.

The Prime Minister spoke to his British counterpart on Saturday night, with the two agreeing to fast-track the proposed FTA and the newly re-elected UK leader confirming it would be high on his government’s agenda.

Negotiations are expected to restart early next year, following ratification of Brexit, with a final deal potentially struck within the next 12 months. Australia is in the box seat, along with the US, to become the first country to secure a post-Brexit free-trade agreement.

Mr Morrison told The Australian that following the conversation, he was confident about striking an agreement soon, given the uncertainty around Brexit had finally been resolved with Mr Johnson’s victory.

“We had a discussion about the FTA … and we are ready to engage on it with him,” Mr Morrison said.

“He had it high on the list of things to do and he was optimistic.

“We are very aspirational in what we can achieve.”

Mr Johnson will transform the British government with a cabinet clear-out, cuts to civil servant numbers and the creation of a new department that will lead negotiations over the trade deal with Australia’s Trade Minister, Simon Birmingham.

Hours after his victory speech on Friday, Mr Johnson called in Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill and other top civil servants to tell them of planned changes. As soon as Brexit has occurred on January 31, the Brexit Department will be abolished and future EU negotiations will be held by the cabinet office and international trade.

…..

Mr Morrison said the British election result had “echoes” of the Australian and 2016 US elections, and he likened British voters to the “quiet Australians”. “What is happening in Western democracies is a rejection of the progressivism that says ‘We know better’,” he said.

“This is being consistently rejected in the new economy and polity … people want control over their own lives and don’t want to be told what to do or what to think. And this is the real problem with the progressives … they want everyone to do what they want.”

He highlighted what he saw as similarities between the Australian federal election result in May, the British election and the 2016 US presidential election that saw the elevation of Donald Trump.

“The economic picture is far broader than workers versus bosses,” Mr Morrison said.

“If you are on the side of the economy, you are on the workers’ side … that’s what Boris Johnson said, what we said, and what Trump said.

“There is a strong echo (with the British and US elections). This quiet group is global … and they are not shouting because they are too busy working.”

Opposition Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers told Sky News the lesson for centre-left parties from Mr Johnson’s re-election was that “you don’t beat populism of the right with populism of the left”.

An Australia-UK Trade Working Group was set up in 2016 to begin work on a possible deal with Britain, which is already Australia’s seventh-largest trading partner.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/london-calling-boris-johnson-talks-trade-with-scott-morrison/news-story/2478259e786d5e5c24d2aa1b9000dbe8

Lawyers complain about lack of access to Julian Assange in jail

Defence team say he is unaware of some evidence in his case because of blockage in visits

Julian Assange has been blocked from seeing evidence in his extradition case because his lawyers cannot get sufficient access to him, a court has heard.

The WikiLeaks founder, 48, appeared at Westminster magistrates court by video link on Friday for a hearing to extend his detention in Belmarsh prison, in south-east London.

He is being held in the high-security jail before a full hearing in February when he will fight extradition to the US, where he faces 18 charges including conspiring to commit computer intrusion.

Assange is accused of working with the former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to leak hundreds of thousands of classified documents.

Assange appeared uncomfortable as he sat waiting for the hearing to start, clenching his hands together before putting them inside the sleeves of his grey sweater.

He spoke to confirm his name and date of birth and to clarify he was Australian, after the court’s legal adviser mistakenly suggested he was a Swedish national.

The court heard that his lawyers had made a request to the judge, complaining about a lack of access to their client behind bars.

Gareth Peirce, defending Assange, said the legal team were struggling to prepare documents for the case as Assange had no access to the evidence.

“Without Mr Assange’s knowledge, some of it is recently acquired evidence, some of it is subject to months of investigation not always in this country, of which he is unaware because of the blockage in visits,” she said.

“Despite our best efforts, Mr Assange has not been given what he must be given, and we are doing our utmost to cut through this.”

Peirce said the governor of Belmarsh had prioritised family visits over legal visits, and she asked the judge to step in. But the district judge, Vanessa Baraitser, said she had no jurisdiction over the Prison Service.

“Can I make it clear that I have no desire to stand in the way of any lawyer having proper access to their client and it’s in the interest of justice that they do,” the judge said. “What I can do and say is to state in open court that it would be helpful to this extradition process that Mr Assange’s lawyers have the access to their client.”

Assange’s lawyers have previously complained that he had been given access to an unsuitable computer in prison.

Last month more than 60 doctors warned in an open letter addressed to the home secretary, Priti Patel, that Assange could die in prison without urgent medical care.

The medics, from the UK, Australia, Europe and Sri Lanka, expressed “serious concerns” about Assange’s fitness to stand trial.

He was jailed for 50 weeks in May for breaching his bail conditions after going into hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex offence allegations, which he has always denied. Last month WikiLeaks welcomed a decision by Swedish authorities to drop a rape investigation.

Assange has been in custody since he was removed from the embassy in April. At a hearing in October he appeared to struggle to say his own name, telling Westminster magistrates court: “I can’t think properly.”

He will next appear in court by video link on 19 December for a case management hearing.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/dec/13/lawyers-complain-about-lack-of-access-to-julian-assange-in-jail

New George Papadopoulos Tweet

Clowns like Alexander Downer from Australia, Tobias Ellwood from the U.K. or Vincenzo Scotti from Italy would not have gotten involved with me and their effort to spy on the campaign unless the higher ups in the US government under Obama ordered them to. Where did the buck stop?

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1206305083622903814

Secret FISA court issues highly unusual public rebuke of FBI for mistakes

The criticism comes after a report by the DOJ inspector general that found "so many basic and fundamental errors."

WASHINGTON — The secret federal court that approves orders for conducting surveillance on suspected foreign terrorists or spies issued a strong and highly unusual public rebuke to the FBI on Tuesday, ordering the agency to say how it intends to correct the errors revealed last week by a Justice Department report on one aspect of the FBI's investigation of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the FBI made serious and repeated mistakes in seeking under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, to conduct surveillance of Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser.

The FBI's submission to the court made assertions that were "inaccurate, incomplete, or unsupported by appropriate documentation," the report said.

Rosemary Collyer, presiding judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, said in the unusual public order that the report "calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable." She ordered the FBI to explain in writing by Jan. 10 how it intends to remedy those problems.

Collyer said the FBI's handling of the Page case "was antithetical to the heightened duty of candor" required by the law that established the surveillance court. Judges on the court rely entirely on the government's submissions. Because they are the only documents the court sees, the government has a heightened duty of candor, she said.

Her order said the FBI must explain "what it has done, and plans to do, to ensure the statements of facts in each FBI application accurately and completely reflects information possessed by the FBI."

Inspector General Michael Horowitz said last week that he has already opened a new review, looking at whether the FBI is complying with its duty to provide accurate information to the FISA court in seeking to conduct surveillance of Americans in terrorism and spying investigations.

FBI Director Christopher Wray announced shortly after the inspector general's report was issued that he has ordered changes in how the FBI submits requests to the FISA court.

"The FBI has some work to do," he said.

In response to Tuesday’s order, the FBI said in a statement that it is committed to working with the FISA court and the Justice Department to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the process. "FISA is an indispensable tool in national security investigations," the FBI said.

The FISA court, established by Congress, consists of 11 federal judges chosen by the Supreme Court's chief justice and meets in secret in a federal courthouse in Washington. It has long been criticized by civil libertarians who consider it simply an arm of the government and not sufficiently independent.

"This was not the first time the government abused its surveillance powers, nor was it the first time the intelligence court was made aware of surveillance abuses," said Neema Singh Guliani of the ACLU. "Congress must radically reform the FISA process to increase accountability, and to ensure that there is a meaningful opportunity to challenge the government's allegations in FISA applications. We can't trust the secret intelligence court alone to police this process."

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/secret-fisa-court-issues-highly-unusual-rebuke-fbi-mistakes-n1103451

Repost from Q Research General #9634 and #9667

>>7531645 (pb)

Resignations in the news

Sir John Key resigns from Air New Zealand board

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/business/sir-john-key-resigns-air-new-zealand-board

WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt’s senior media advisor Stephen Kaless resigns over ‘incident’ at Christmas party

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/wa-treasurer-ben-wyatts-senior-media-advisor-stephen-kaless-resigns-over-incident-at-christmas-party-ng-b881413148z

>>7556646 (pb)

Brisbane councillor Matthew Bourke announces resignation

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/brisbane-councillor-matthew-bourke-announces-resignation-20191217-p53kvh.html

Repost from Q Research General #9634

>>7531708 (pb)

July 30, 2019 – Secret McCabe texts with MI-5 counterpart emerge, spotlighting UK’s early role In Russiagate

“Newly surfaced text messages between Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and his counterpart at MI-5, the UK’s domestic security service, have cast new light on Britain’s role in the FBI’s 2016 ‘Russiagate’ investigation, according to The Guardian. Two of the most senior intelligence officials in the US and UK privately shared concerns about “our strange situation” as the FBI launched its 2016 investigation into whether Donald Trump’s campaign was colluding with Russia, The Guardian has learned. Text messages between Andrew McCabe, the deputy director of the FBI at the time, and Jeremy Fleming, his then counterpart at MI5, now the head of GCHQ, also reveal their mutual surprise at the result of the EU referendum, which some US officials regarded as a “wake-up call”, according to a person familiar with the matter. –The Guardian

McCabe and Fleming’s texts were “infrequent and cryptic,” but “occurred with some regularity” after the June 2016 Brexit referendum. In his text message about the August 2016 meeting, Fleming appeared to be making a reference to Peter Strzok, a senior FBI official who travelled to London that month to meet the Australian diplomat Alexander Downer. Downer had agreed to speak with the FBI about a Trump campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, who had told him that Russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee in the race. –The Guardian

Seen here:

Secret texts cast light on UK's early role in Trump-Russia inquiry

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/30/secret-texts-cast-light-uk-early-role-trump-russia-inquiry

In 2017, The Guardian reported that Britain’s spy agencies had played a key role in alerting their American counterparts of communications between members of the Trump campaign and “suspected Russian agents,” which was passed along to the US in what was characterized as a “routine exchange of information.” (Read more: Zero Hedge, 7/30/2019)

Seen Here:

Secret McCabe Texts With MI-5 Counterpart Emerge, Spotlighting UK's Early Role In 'Russiagate'

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-31/secret-mccabe-texts-mi-5-counterpart-begin-trickle-out-spotlighting-uks-early-role

Repost from Q Research General #9635

>>7532200 (pb)

Man jailed for abducting and raping NSW schoolgirl

A man who abducted an 11-year-old girl and subjected her to a horrific five-hour sexual assault ordeal has been sentenced to 23 years behind bars.

A man who abducted an 11-year-old girl as she walked to school and repeatedly raped her at three separate locations during a horrific five-hour ordeal has been jailed for 23 years and six months.

Newcastle District Court judge Roy Ellis on Tuesday was in no doubt the victim had been “unbelievably terrified” of Brett David Hill who made numerous threats to injure and kill her if she did not do what he wanted.

Judge Ellis said Hill’s criminality was extremely high and he had shown no sympathy, empathy or compassion for the girl during the prolonged attack.

The judge said 11-year-old girls were entitled to walk safely to school without being attacked.

A psychological report revealed the girl was now extremely cautious about her surroundings and had suicidal thoughts because she feels worthless.

Hill, a father of three, was jailed for a total of 23 years and six months with a minimum term of 17 years.

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/crime/nsw-schoolgirl-to-confront-rapist-in-court/news-story/4179c2f36a4cd444fb494e828221f624

Repost from Q Research General #9637

>>7534422 (pb)

Customs officers seize US$9.8 million of crystal meth from Mexico in drugs bust at Hong Kong International Airport

Customs and Excise Department launched raid on December 5 and found 110kg (243lb) of drug in cargo terminal

Officials are investigating if drug was destined for Japan or Australia

Customs officers in Hong Kong have recovered HK$77 million (US$9.8 million) worth of crystal meth in a cargo shipment airmailed from Mexico via Alaska, their largest such seizure since 2010.

The 110kg (243lb) haul of the drug, also known as Ice or methamphetamine, could have been worth six times more in other countries, such as Japan and Australia, sources told the Post.

According to the Customs and Excise Department, the drugs were found hidden inside three cartons at Hong Kong International Airport’s cargo terminal on December 5, after officials exchanged information with their counterparts in Alaska.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3042353/customs-officers-seize-us98-million-crystal-meth

Repost from Q Research General #9638

>>7535066 (pb)

Child sex offender in custody after trying to flee country in missing yacht

A child sex offender has been extradited from the Northern Territory, after he was caught trying to flee Australia in a missing yacht.

Authorities began searching for Neil Hawkins, aged 52, after he negotiated to buy the boat One Too Many from a Darwin man, who handed it over before receiving payment.

The man realised he may never see the boat again, after Mr Hawkins stopped taking his calls, and contacted NT Police.

"He was worried about his yacht disappearing but, secondly, he was unsure of whether the man could sail or not," said Sergeant Andrew Hocking from the Water Police Section.

CCTV footage from boat ramps in Darwin revealed the yacht had been launched from Dinah Beach, where the man's car and the trailer were found.

After an initial search of Darwin Harbour, the missing yacht was reporting to the rescue coordination centre in Canberra.

It was then discovered the 52-year-old had an outstanding revocation of parole warrant in New South Wales relating to fraud and domestic violence offences, as well as a history of child sex offences.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/northern-territory-child-sex-offender-extradited-after-attempting-to-flee-australia-in-stolen-yacht/f1e71bc2-41ac-4714-8b05-91a7e9092419

Repost from Q Research General #9643

>>7538943 (pb)

Open letter to Scott Morrison regarding Julian Assange

More than 40 esteemed lawyers, academics, journalists, top-ranking security veterans, whistleblowers, authors and artists have joined in urging Scott Morrison to intervene to stop the British violation of international law that keeps Julian Assange under life-threatening conditions, and to ensure his transfer to a suitable hospital, as urgently petitioned by more than 80 doctors last month.

https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/open-letter-to-scott-morrison-regarding-julian-assange,13423

Repost from Q Research General #9644

>>7539120 (pb)

Businessman Sir Ron Brierley charged for alleged possession of child pornography

One of Australia’s most prominent businessman has been arrested and charged for alleged possession of child pornography.

Millionaire businessman Sir Ron Brierley has been charged for alleged possession of child pornography.

In a statement, NSW Police said the 82-year-old was arrested at Sydney International Airport on Tuesday about 6.30am.

Mr Brierley, who was born in New Zealand, became one of Australia’s most feared corporate raiders and retired this year after a 60-year career. He was admitted as a Knight in 1988 and a former trustee of the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust.

His arrest came after detectives from the Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command began an investigation into the possession of child abuse material in the local area.

Mr Brierley, who lives in the exclusive Sydney suburb of Point Piper, was stopped by Australian Border Force officers at the airport and NSW Police were contacted.

His carry-on luggage was searched, and the contents of his laptop and electronic storage devices was reviewed.

NSW Police allege the electronic devices contained large amounts of child abuse material.

He was taken to Mascot Police Station and charged with six counts of possess child abuse material.

He has been granted strict conditional bail and is due to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on Monday, February 10, 2020.

https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/businessman-sir-ron-brierley-charged-for-alleged-possession-of-child-pornography/news-story/9d5c009059959bd20d8ebbf0694e800f

Gee the Queen sure does give knighthoods to a lot of pedos!!!!

Repost from Q Research General #9679

>>7566417 (pb)

Bad to worse: pain not over for Australia's beleaguered banks

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1207841933026050049

PAIN

New George Papadopoulos Tweet

Australia was conspiring against the United States of America with their bizarre diplomat, Alexander Downer, an individual I referred to both the FBI and Congress for investigation in 2017-2018. They never thought they would get caught.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1207848936376897536

The Dirty Truth “Josh“

John Durham is looking into the pre-July narrative about them dangling or reaching out to @GeorgePapa19 and @carterwpage.

https://twitter.com/AKA_RealDirty/status/1207846498286915585

Treaty bans extradition of Julian Assange to the US, lawyers to argue

London: Lawyers for Julian Assange say they will argue that the WikiLeaks founder cannot be sent from Britain to the United States to face spying charges because a treaty between the two countries bans extradition for political offences.

Assange, 48, faces 18 counts in the US including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law. He could spend decades in prison if convicted.

The Australian appeared via videolink in Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Thursday, London time, for a case management hearing.

Assange sniffled as he sat unshaven and wearing glasses, a white shirt and a mauve jumper.

His lawyer Edward Fitzgerald outlined some of the evidence Assange's team would put forward at the full extradition hearing due to start on February 24, saying they could call up to 21 witnesses to testify.

"We say that there is in the treaty a ban on being extradited for a political offence and these offences as framed and in substance are political offences," he told the court.

Other arguments would feature medical evidence, public denunciations by leading US political figures, and details from the case of Chelsea Manning, an ex-intelligence analyst who was convicted by a US Army court-martial in 2013 of espionage and other offences for leaking secret cables to WikiLeaks.

There would also be information from an investigation led by a Spanish judge into "revelations about bugging of conversations with his lawyers" during Assange's long stay in the Ecuadorean embassy in London.

Assange is due to be interviewed by a Spanish judge when he appears in person at the same London court for a private hearing on Friday over the allegations.

He spent almost seven years holed up in cramped rooms at the embassy where he fled in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden where he was then wanted for questioning over allegations of rape which were later dropped.

He was dragged from the embassy in April and jailed for 50 weeks for skipping bail before the US launched its extradition request.

Due to the mass of evidence, the full hearing to decide the extradition issue is now set to last for up to four weeks, rather than one as originally planned, Judge Vanessa Baraitser said, with Fitzgerald adding it involved "difficult, important and profound" matters.

Baraitser also seemed unimpressed when Clair Dobbin, representing the US authorities, asked for the case to be delayed until April, saying the lawyer earmarked for the case would not be available for the extended hearing.

"My impression was the [US] government was anxious for this case to remain on track and not to be derailed," said Baraitser, who said the next hearing would take place on January 23 and the timetable would go ahead as planned.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/treaty-bans-extradition-of-julian-assange-to-the-us-lawyers-to-argue-20191219-p53lp9.html

Boris Johnson eyes Australia in biggest overhaul of foreign policy 'since the Cold War'

London: The United Kingdom could copy elements of Australia's foreign interference and espionage laws as it moves to counter covert operations by an increasingly aggressive Russia and China.

Pledging to embark on the most "radical reassessment of our place in the world since the end of the Cold War", Prime Minister Boris Johnson used the ceremonial opening of parliament to announce he will lead a major review of British foreign policy, and foreshadow a crackdown on foreign agents and covert meddling.

The government has commissioned a review of the Official Secrets Act and will also consider updating treason laws to criminalise "harmful activity conducted by and on behalf of other states".

"The government is also considering like-minded international partners' legislation to see whether the UK would benefit from adopting something similar," government briefing notes from the speech show. "This includes the US and Australia."

The UK has been under pressure to follow the lead of Australia and other 'Five Eyes' intelligence partners over the threat of foreign espionage. The Turnbull government last year passed laws targeting foreign interference in Australian politics, requiring lobbyists for foreign governments and political parties to identify themselves on a public register.

Despite public denials by the government, the laws were largely aimed at China and have been a sore point in the relationship between Beijing in Canberra since their introduction.

The UK government promised to get tough on foreign interference in the wake of the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal in the British city of Salisbury in 2018, but lost momentum due to Brexit.

The Queen's Speech document released on Thursday promises new legislation to "make the UK a harder environment for adversaries to operate in". The UK is expected to consult with their Canberra counterparts about how the Australian regime works.

Johnson has also committed to leading the "deepest" review of Britain's security since the Cold War, incorporating the armed services, intelligence agencies and counter-terrorism operations.

"It will also develop global Britain's foreign policy; with a focus on our alliances and diplomacy, trends in shifts of power and wealth, and how the UK can best use our international development resource," the Queen's Speech document says.

Queen Elizabeth II formally opened a new session of Britain's parliament on Thursday with a speech laying out Johnson's plans to use his commanding majority to take the UK out of the European Union and shake up the country's public services.

Johnson's Conservative Party won an 80-strong majority in the 650-seat House of Commons last week on a pledge to "get Brexit done" by leaving the EU on January 31, and a broad promise to end years of public spending austerity.

The Queen's Speech - written by the government but read out by the monarch from atop a golden throne in the House of Lords - rattled through several dozen bills that the government plans to pass in the coming year.

The first will be Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement Bill, the law needed to make Brexit a reality. The government plans to hold the first significant vote on it on Friday.

The bill commits Britain to leaving the EU on January 31 and to concluding trade talks with the bloc by the end of 2020. Johnson insists he won't agree to any more delays - a vow that has set off alarm bells among businesses, who fear that means the country will face a "no-deal" Brexit at the start of 2021.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/boris-johnson-eyes-australia-in-biggest-overhaul-of-foreign-policy-since-the-cold-war-20191219-p53loz.html

Rachel Noble to become the first woman to lead a major Australian spy agency

The Federal Government has appointed the first woman to lead a major Australian spy agency.

Rachel Noble will become the next director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), which intercepts electronic communications from foreign countries.

She is currently the head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC).

Ms Noble replaces Mike Burgess, who is now Australia's spy chief at the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).

"Her appointment to this leadership role is a significant step forward for women in the national security sector and we congratulate her," Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said in a statement.

Ms Noble's promotion is the third major security appointment in recent months for the Federal Government, following the retirements of Australian Federal Police boss Andrew Colvin and former ASIO head Duncan Lewis.

The ACSC sits within ASD. Before joining the organisation, Ms Noble was a senior official at the Department of Home Affairs.

Her public sector experience also included stints at the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Immigration and Defence departments.

She was also previously deputy chief of facility at Pine Gap, the highly secretive defence facility in the Northern Territory.

"Ms Noble's deep experience in intelligence strongly positions her to lead ASD in executing its important national security mission," the Government's statement said.

"She has vital technical expertise having previously worked in ASD and has a strong understanding of the role the organisation plays in the national intelligence community."

Ms Noble's role at the ACSC saw her tasked with leading the nation's cyber security capabilities.

She will take on her new job in February 2020.

The Government thanked Lieutenant General John Frewen, the principal deputy director-general, for acting in the director-general role while ASD searched for a replacement for Mr Burgess.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-13/rachel-noble-first-woman-to-lead-australian-signals-directorate/11797046

Australian cyber soldiers hacked Islamic State and crippled its propaganda unit – here's what we know

At an undisclosed location, in a windowless room, Australian cyber spies snooped on Islamic State, plotting an online attack that would ultimately cripple the terror group's propaganda unit.

The 2016 operation was integral in trying to stop the spread of Islamic State's indoctrination but has remained classified until now.

The ABC has revealed Australia's participation in an international effort that's been described as the largest cyber offensive in US military history.

A so-called scorched earth attack devasted Islamic State's ability to recruit fighters.

Here's how they did it.

Why hack Islamic State?

As Australia and its allies fought Islamic State from the ground and in the air in the Middle East, it became clear that the terror group's online skills were helping to build its caliphate.

At its peak, Islamic State had at least 100 people working for its propaganda unit. They included IT specialists, graphic designers and editors.

The team produced glossy digital magazines in several languages that outlined ways to launch an attack and published high quality videos to recruit members from across the world with great success.

Sitting at computers, Islamic State fighters proved just as important as those carrying guns and making explosives.

"A lot of the individuals who worked on the virtual caliphate had the same salaries and titles as military commanders on the ground," said Lydia Khalil, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute.

How was Australia involved in hacking Islamic State?

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) is one of the nation's most secretive organisations and is tasked with intercepting foreign communication and cyber warfare.

The United States drafted a team of 20 from within ASD to join a top-secret mission, called Operation Glowing Symphony, aimed at hacking into Islamic State's propaganda computer network.

The Australian team included hackers, or "offensive cyber operators" as they're officially called, counter terrorism experts, linguists, intelligence experts and technical specialists.

The team spent four months preparing for a cyber-attack on Islamic State, during which they spied on the terror group's propaganda unit members.

"You need to know how they will respond when we conduct operations against them, to inform your tactics of how you will go back against them pending your responses," said Sarah, an ASD hacker who led the Australian operation, but whose identity cannot be revealed for security reasons.

What was involved in the hack?

Australia and its allies found 10 entry points to hack into Islamic State's online network.

The ASD won't reveal how hackers broke those doors down and gained access into the propaganda unit's systems.

But the techniques can include working out a username and password, by sending phishing emails, or by exploiting security flaws from people not updating their computer systems.

Those months of snooping were finally put to the test when US agents issued a code word, an undisclosed a football team name, to launch a global cyber offensive.

Working in a windowless room in Canberra, ASD's cyber fighters tapped away at their keyboards, targeting a list of targets pinned to the wall.

For 12 hours they accessed accounts, locked Islamic State members out, stole the contents and deleted backups of the files.

The cyber-attacks continued for a week, crippling the propaganda unit's systems.

What did they take from Islamic State?

The exact nature of what ASD secured in the attack remains highly classified.

But the ABC has revealed the Australian team scooped up terabytes of data from the Islamic State network.

That included everything from photos and videos to documents.

The hack would have left Islamic State fighters bewildered when they tried to log into their computers.

"[It was] like scorched earth," ASD's Ben Staughton told the ABC in an exclusive interview.

"You no longer had access to email, to your virtual private networks, to your media production capabilities."

(continued)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-18/inside-the-secret-hack-on-islamic-state-propaganda-network/11809426

>Information warfare.

WikiLeaks' Assange testifies in embassy spying case

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday testified in his legal case against a Spanish private security firm that he claims spied on him while he was holed up in the Ecuadoran embassy in London.

Assange, who is currently serving time at a high-security prison in Britain, answered questions from a judge at Spain's National Court in Madrid, testifying by videoconference from Westminster Magistrates Court in London, his legal team said.

Spain's top criminal court is investigating whether Undercover Global Ltd, which was responsible for security at the embassy, spied on 48-year-old Australian and passed on information to the United States.

The case is key to Assange's efforts to fight an extradition request by the US Justice Department which is pushing to have him put on trial for leaking hundreds of thousands of secret US military and diplomatic documents in 2010.

The documents exposed US rights abuses including the unreported killing of Iraqi civilians, but also put sources named in the documents at risk and were used to weaken democratic alliances.

"We are pleased that Mr. Assange was able to express himself regarding this alleged spying which was supposedly coordinated from the United States," one of his lawyers, Aitor Martinez, told reporters outside the Madrid court after Assange testified.

"Given the evidence that has been submitted, we feel that obviously the extradition request against him should be rejected because there are no guarantees in the United States" that his rights will be respected, he added.

• Microphones in toilets -

Assange's legal team argues he was "subjected to widespread interference on a massive scale by the American authorities, violating his confidential communications with his lawyers, among other rights."

"The information gathered by this firm – through the alleged use of video cameras which also captured audio, hidden microphones, copying identity documents, monitoring the electronic devices and mobile phones of visitors, among other things – ended up in the hands of the US intelligence services."

There was a "huge body of evidence" to back the claim, coming from both company data as well as from protected witnesses who were formerly employed by the firm, the source said.

As well as installing cameras, Undercover Global is suspected of installing microphones in places as diverse as the base of a fire extinguisher and in the women's toilets, where Assange held many meetings for fear of being spied on.

They were allegedly able to record discussions with his lawyers as well as details of medical visits, with the information then transferred to servers that were accessible to the US intelligence services.

• 'Life now in danger' -

Assange took refuge inside the Ecuadoran embassy in 2012, fleeing what he claimed was a politically-motivated extradition order for his return to Sweden for questioning in a sexual assault case, which was dropped last month.

After Quito gave him up in April, Assange was arrested and is currently serving 50 weeks in a London jail for breaching his bail conditions when he entered the embassy.

He is also fighting a request to extradite him to the United States where he faces 18 charges, mostly relating the obtention and dissemination of classified information over WikiLeaks' publication of military documents and diplomatic cables.

Assange is "very tired" as his "health is very fragile," Martinez, his lawyer in Spain said.

He recalled that the United Nations special rapporteur on torture warned last month that Assange's health was so bad that his life was "now in danger".

Friday's hearing came at the request of the National Court, which is investigating both Undercover Global and its owner David Morales, who was arrested in September but is out on conditional release.

https://www.france24.com/en/20191220-wikileaks-assange-testifies-in-embassy-spying-case-1

New George Papadopoulos Tweets

The Clinton errand boy, Alexander Downer, will go down in history as the bumbling wannabe spy who almost singlehandy wrecked the US-Australia relationship before I notified authorities about his behavior at our meeting in London. He is indeed, the Clinton errand boy.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1208108797366947841

——–

Congressman @DevinNunes stated that Australia (Alexander Downer) had this conspiracy set in motion LONG before the DNC emails came out. When you understand that the spying was conducted on me for my ties to the energy industry in Israel, and Australia wanted in. Their motivation!

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1208850488642293760

Waiting for a mate? The PM’s office sets record straight on Hawaiian holiday theories

Wild claims have circulated on social media during Scott Morrison’s controversial Hawaiian holiday.

They include: that the PM secretly travelled to New York to meet Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston, that his family stayed at a military-only hotel for US servicemen, and that he was meeting with friends who are part of a family of highly active members of a far-right conspiracy group.

The theories come after it was revealed earlier this year that Mr Morrison is close with a prominent promoter of the US-based conspiracy movement QAnon.

The FBI lists theories promoted by QAnon as a domestic terrorist threat in the US.

Setting the record straight

With the rumour mill in overdrive even as the Morrisons returned early from Hawaii, The New Daily put all of these claims to the Prime Minister’s office.

''Q. Did the Prime Minister stay at a military hotel for US servicemen?''

No. He stayed in a family hotel.

''Q. Did he secretly fly to New York and meet up with Hillsong founder Brian Houston?''

No. He had a holiday with his family in Hawaii. He wasn’t with anyone else. He did not travel to New York or anywhere else.

''Q. Why did he not come home on Friday? Was there an issue getting a flight or something else? It was 24 hours later.''

According to the Prime Minister’s office, he was hours away from an international airport.

It said the Hawaii Air flight was the first available option. Waikiki beach, where he was photographed on Friday night, is a 17-minute drive from Honolulu airport – but it’s possible he was somewhere else in Hawaii when he learned the two firefighters had died.

''Q. Did he plan to meet up with family friends linked to a far-Right QAnon conspiracy?''

No. He was on holiday with his family. No one else. Except for his security team.

PM pens an opinion piece

Meanwhile, on Monday morning The Daily Telegraph published an op-ed from Scott Morrison.

In it, the PM defends his government’s response to the bushfire crisis and stressed the need for “real action on climate change”. But he claims “reckless” moves like ending coal exports and setting a stricter emissions target will have no “meaningful impact” on the global climate.

He also lists current policies around preventing bushfires, such as hazard reduction and land clearing laws.

Mr Morrison also wonders “how we can best sustain our extensive volunteer fire fighting effort”, saying they will be reviewed after the present emergency ends.

Mr Morrison concedes there is need for climate change action at all levels of government.

“There is no disagreement and there has not been any denial of this critical factor, either by the federal government or any state or territory government,” the op-ed reads.

“But to suggest that increasing Australia’s climate targets would have prevented these fires or extreme weather events, in Australia or anywhere else, is simply false.”

But he pushes back against more stringent action, including calls to end coal exports and set an emissions target.

“We won’t embrace reckless targets and abandon our traditional industries that would risk Australian jobs while having no meaningful impact on the global climate,” Mr Morrison writes.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/2019/12/23/scott-morrison-hawaii-qanon-hillsong-conspiracy/

Repost from Q Research General #9704

>>7585882 (pb)

>>7585868 (pb)

>"All I want for Christmas is my son to be home safe with his family, under the protection of his country"

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/behindthescenes/julian-assanges-mother-christine-breaks-her-silence-and-reveals-her-agony-as-her-son-remains-in-jail/news-story/c3abe23d1672da546df498e85e96707e

Julian Assange’s mother Christine breaks her silence and reveals her agony as her son remains in jail

Distraught that her son remains in the notorious Belmarsh prison, Australian Christine Assange said she has nothing to mark.

“All I want for Christmas is my son Julian to be home safe with his family, under the protection of his country, to be free from this nine-year unlawful and brutal political persecution and to heal from the human rights abuses and torture which have damaged his mind and body,” said Ms Assange.

Unable to speak with her son since he was jailed earlier this year, Ms Assange said all she has for Christmas this year are memories.

“Our Christmases were never boring. Julian would delight the children in the family with special Christmas performances,” said Ms Assange, in her first interview since his imprisonment.

She revealed he would delight the children with a trick involving shaving sparklers and putting them in the mouth of a tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur toy, lighting it, giving the impression that he was alive and breathing fire.

She said Julian had a lot of fun with his own son Daniel, decorating the Christmas tree.

“He was a devoted, innovative and playful father,” she said.

“Julian would love to string up the fairy lights …. we would make homemade decorations together.

“Julian’s Christmas presents were always very thoughtful. “He chose presents for the children in the family that would encourage curiosity, creativity and inventiveness.” “He would give me art books and materials because he knew I had a passion for art.”

“I really miss our family Christmases … they have never been the same without him. There is something missing. We haven’t had a proper family Christmas since he has been detained … nothing is the same”.

“If he ends up in US hands, there will be a show trial and there will be nothing fair or just about it. He will never see the light of day again. He is accused of engaging in multi-award winning journalism, not hurting anyone.”

Ms Assange has urged the Australian public to support the fight to stop Julian’s extradition to the United States to face espionage charges and to urge the Australian Government to bring Julian Home

Assange, an Australian citizen, is facing 175 years prison if extradited to the US and convicted on espionage charges.

The unprecedented prosecution relates to the publication of documents provided to WikiLeaks by whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

Assange attracted the attention of the United States when Wikileaks and several media outlets published hundreds of thousands of secret US documents and a video about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan which contained evidence of war crimes.

Repost from Q Research General #9723

>>7600053 (pb)

Aussie PM Scott Morrison Rejects Greta Thunberg’s Climate Advice

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday rejected Swedish climate worrier Greta Thunberg and her gratuitous advice, declaring he was “not here to impress people overseas.”

Thunberg retweeted a video from Australian media outlet 9 News on Sunday, adding politicians had failed to connect “increased extreme weather events and nature disasters.”

The leader of the conservative coalition government dismissed Thunberg’s observation, saying he was focused on Australia’s interests rather than responding to observations being delivered from the safety of 12,000 miles away.

Morrison also rejected calls to downsize Australia’s lucrative coal industry, noting Australia is the world’s largest exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas and he intends to keep it that way.

“Australia and the Australian Government will set our policies based on Australia’s national interests, on what Australia needs to do,” Mr Morrison told reporters in the rural center of Mudgee.

“That’s where I keep my focus. It’s not for me to make commentaries on what those outside of Australia think that Australia should do. We’ll do in Australia what we think is right for Australia. And that has always been my guiding principle.”

Morrison, who was touring the worst hit areas to thank firefighters and see conditions for himself, then took direct aim at overseas commentators, saying he was elected to serve the Australian people not the passing fads of professional climate alarmists.

“I’m not here to try to impress people overseas,” Morrison said. “I’m here to do the right job for Australians and put them first, and that means putting the environment in which we live at the top of the agenda, along with the economy in which people live at the top of the agenda.

“And making sure that we have responsible plans to balance the issues to ensure that people have what they need going into the future and they can be confident about their future.”

Morrison took time out to thank U.S. and Canadian firefighters who have given up Christmas at home with their families to stand alongside firefighters Down Under:

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/23/aussie-pm-scott-morrison-rejects-greta-thunbergs-climate-advice/

Repost from Q Research General #9729

>>7604952 (pb)

Twisting 'the facts' to kick the PM: The REAL story behind elderly firefighter who said 'he's not my Prime Minister' when she met ScoMo – as Government blows up at The Project for editing footage to 'mock him'

Mr Morrison visited evacuated residents and firefighters in Mudgee on Monday

NSW RFS worker Jacqui said 'He's not my prime minister' while shaking his hand

Jacqui was hailed a 'hero' when the footage of their meeting went viral

Morrison tweeted Jacqui was British and her prime minister was Boris Johnson

Do you know more? Please email zoe.zaczek@mailonline.com

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7822793/Firefighter-tells-Scott-Morrison-hes-not-prime-minister-bushfire-crisis.html

Fake news busted in Aus

>>7609109

Much appreciated, anon. Merry Christmas and best wishes from Australia.

Allies join Space Force for multinational collaboration

Dec. 27 (UPI) – Allies are in the early stages of collaboration with the newly created U.S. Space Force, which has hosted its first "five eyes" level briefing and authorized its first collaborative task order, the Air Force said Friday.

According to an announcement by the U.S. Air Force, Group Captain Darren Whiteley, a Royal Air Force officer from Britain and the deputy director of the Combined Space Operations Center, recently signed the first combined tasking order for Space Force command units.

"Allied partnerships are critical to defending our assets at home and in the space domain," Whiteley said. "The threat is expanding and international collaboration is essential to strengthen deterrence against hostile actors. Through these partnerships we are able to expand the depth and multiply the effects we can have to those evolving threats."

The task order is the first by a coalition partner under Operation Olympic Defender, a multinational effort intended to optimize space operations and share information between allies.

"Five eyes" is a military term referring to intelligence sharing and collaboration between Australia, Canada, Britain, the United States and New Zealand.

New Zealand has recently attended its first weekly products brief, where coalition space strategy is synchronized and where master plans and tasking orders are communicated and approved.

CFSCC was established at Vandenberg at an October ceremony.

On Saturday President Donald Trump signed a $738 defense bill authorizing the creation of establishing the U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of the military. That bill follows a February directive from the President to create the Force, but it also requires that existing military personnel be reassigned to create the force.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/12/27/Allies-join-Space-Force-for-multinational-collaboration/1331577484301/?sl=3

https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article/2047797/usspacecom-expands-key-allied-space-partnerships-through-multi-nation-operations

Fuel deal between Trump and Australia secures crucial backing

A bid by the Morrison government to avoid spending billions of dollars on a vast stockpile of emergency fuel has won crucial support from the world's peak energy agency ahead of a possible deal with United States President Donald Trump.

But a complementary plan to shore up dangerously low domestic storages – by rewriting an international treaty – is struggling to gain momentum, leaving Australia exposed to price hikes and rationing should war or disaster strike the Middle East or South China Sea.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age revealed in August that the Morrison government was negotiating with the Trump administration to buy millions of barrels of oil from America's tightly guarded fuel reserve under a new strategy to limit Australia's exposure to a major crisis.

Australia imports 90 per cent of its liquid fuels but has enough automotive petrol to last only 25 days and crude oil for 30 days – well below the 90 days it is obliged to store under an agreement with the International Energy Agency (IEA). Overall, Australia has just 54 days of net coverage.

The US deal, which is yet to be signed off by Mr Trump, would allow Australia access to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and its 640 million barrels of crude oil stored across a network of underground caverns.

Australia would be able to store its own fuel in the Texas and Louisiana facilities or use US-owned stocks in an emergency, effectively preventing the need to spend billions of dollars building storage facilities in Australia to meet the IEA rules.

IEA executive director Fatih Birol endorsed the negotiations and said a deal could count towards Australia's 90-day obligation, but urged the government to return to compliance as soon as possible.

"Oil is today the lifeblood of the global economy. You may like oil, dislike oil, but this is the reality of life," Dr Birol said.

"I have heard there are some good, positive discussions between the Australian government and US government and I hope we will sometime soon get some good news about that. Such an arrangement would be welcomed by me."

Energy Minister Angus Taylor has also been pushing for a major rewrite of the treaty that dictates the 90-day supply standard.

Mr Taylor has said the "outdated" rules should be changed so oil stock owned by Australia and being transported to the mainland can count towards overall domestic supply.

He briefed Dr Birol on Australia's plan during a recent meeting at a climate summit in Spain.

Asked whether he supported a rewrite, Dr Birol said the IEA hadn't discussed the idea and appeared lukewarm in his own support.

"We are bound by the decision made by our member governments," he said. "The current government decision does not allow the counting of oil in transition. If the governments change their position we can allow it but currently, no.”

New government figures show oil headed to Australia on the sea or "overseas and awaiting delivery to Australia" represents about 23 days' supply. If added to the 54 days of net supply currently held onshore, Australia would still fall short of the 90-day requirement.

Security experts and some government MPs have long warned that low storage levels exposed Australia to "far too much risk" given supplies rely on volatile ocean passages, including the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

Dr Birol said recent attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia were a reminder of the risk.

"Saudi Arabia today is by far the largest oil exporter in the world and nobody can guarantee me that we will not see a similar attack on Saudi Arabia or another producing country," he said.

Negotiations with the Trump administration over the terms of a deal to access the Strategic Petroleum Reserve are continuing. The government has promised to ensure any deal "represents the best outcome for Australians".

(continued)

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/fuel-deal-between-trump-and-australia-secures-crucial-backing-20191223-p53mbe.html

Repost from Q Research General #9778

>>7642637 (pb)

Westpac scandal: Apra launches full investigation into bank over child exploitation allegations

Apra also added $500m capital requirement, bringing total capital penalty imposed on the bank to $1bn

The prudential regulator has launched a full-scale investigation into Westpac over its money-laundering and child exploitation scandal that could result in bank directors and executives being kicked out of the industry.

And the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority told Westpac it must set aside an additional $500m in capital, bringing the total capital penalty imposed on the bank since the middle of the year to $1bn.

Apra said it would also review Westpac’s governance of risk, including executive accountability and remuneration.

The investigation comes after Australia’s financial intelligence agency, Austrac, launched legal action against Westpac last month alleging the bank breached anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism finance laws 23m times, including by allowing customers to transfer money to the Philippines in a manner consistent with child exploitation.

It is the latest blow for the bank over a scandal which has already lopped the heads of its chief executive and chairman and earned a second “strike” against its remuneration report from furious shareholders.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/17/westpac-scandal-apra-launches-full-investigation-into-bank-over-child-exploitation-allegations

Repost from Q Research General #9802

>>7660631 (pb)

Dear Normies,

Many believe those Thai cave boys were being trafficked even though you probably don't. I'm going to try to enlighten you as to the worldwide epidemic of child sex abuse and trafficking. I probably won't be able to convince you to your satisfaction and the reason for that is, with respect, you believe what the papers say and I don't. There are no mainstream media (MSM) articles that dare to report that the Thai cave boys were being trafficked but, if you stop and think about it, there were no mainstream articles saying that Jeffrey Epstein (until 2008) or Jimmy Savile (until after his death) were pedophiles either.

The MSM outlets are all owned by a surprisingly small group of ultra-wealthy elites. For these people, part of staying in power involves the co-operation of the intelligence services (e.g. CIA, FBI, The Mossad etc), corruption, and blackmail. Sadly, some of this necessitates the use of honey-traps and underage sex for blackmail purposes (e.g. Epstein Island and the Playboy Mansion). "Preposterous", you might say. Well, it's really no stretch to show that the MSM are complicit in the covering up of child abuse. Look at the thousands of pro-Epstein and Jimmy Savile articles - and the connections these men had to the rich and powerful, including media magnates, Presidents, Prime Ministers, and the British Royal Family. Journalists knew what was happening but were unwilling or unable to speak out for fear of losing their jobs/status.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/i-tried-to-warn-you-about-sleazy-billionaire-jeffrey-epstein-in-2003

It's a bitter pill to swallow and I understand most people's first reaction is to brush all this off as nonsense. If you want an easy way into the murky world of spies and honey-traps, start looking at Epstein's madame/procurer of underage girls, Ghislaine Maxwell, and her Father (rumoured Mossad agent) Robert Maxwell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Maxwell#Mossad_allegations;_Vanunu_case

If you seriously want to look into the world of child trafficking and sexual abuse and are willing to be open-minded enough to accept some sources outside of the controlled MSM (which I and many others consider fake-news), you could do worse than to start with the links below. I have to warn you though, you will not like what you find. Honestly, most people would rather not know and that's OK. It's especially hard for parents to accept that these things are so common in our supposedly civilised world. It is this unwillingness to believe that leads many to preemptively dismiss what is right in front of them (Savile/Epstein/Bryan Singer/Dan Schneider/Spacey/Polanski/Woody Allen etc).

1 of 2

>>7670348

>>7660634 (pb)

Often, the very organisations who are meant to be helping children become the facilitators of their abuse e.g. -

Many NGOs are fronts for intel services.

https://archive.is/GfQXw

After the Earthquake in Haiti, Hillary Clinton-associate, Laura Silsby, tried to steal 33 children and was caught at the border. The Clintons helped get her charges reduced.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-25/clinton-silsby-trafficking-scandal-and-how-media-attempted-ignorecover-it

Canadian, Peter Dalglish started a charity to "help" street children (Street Kids International), was an aid worker for the UN, and won the Order of Canada before he was convicted of sexually abusing boys in Nepal.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/09/nepal-jails-canadian-former-un-official-for-sexually-abusing-boys

Look at his resume.

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

Robert Hughes who played the "Dad" in Hey Dad, (Australia's longest running sitcom) was convicted for 10 years for molesting the youngest cast-member, Sarah Monahan (and others). I was close with a member of the crew at the time. Everyone knew Robert Hughes was a pedophile. Some of the crew members went on strike and refused to work until something was done. The producers of the show responded by hiring a chaperone for poor Sarah but the abuse continued. There was too much money tied up in "Australia's longest running sitcom" for there to be any proper repercussions for Robert - not until years later when some of the other actors backed Sarah up and secured the conviction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hughes_(Australian_actor)#Allegations_of_sexual_misconduct,_arrest,_and_conviction

Now you could say that none of these things is direct evidence of the Thai cave boys being trafficked and you'd be right. But have a look into the area that it took place - The Golden Triangle. Do a Google search on Human Trafficking in The Golden Triangle and you'll see that there are massive drug smuggling cartels and many vulnerable children in that area who are "stateless" and have no passports or even ID. Their parents get addicted to opium and are sent to prison, then the cartels swoop.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-12/12/content_7297128.htm?fbclid=IwAR0vVl_TuhOJ–_RxpZRIZrJT9fro1cMEagO_RMiJqEF3zi2tO-BIfkHBXM

https://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/420/Daughters-and-Sons–Preventing-Child-Trafficking-in-the-Golden-Triangle

This is just a start but now you know.

Those who know cannot sleep - Q.

(I wrote the above rant to a FB friend/normie/troll who struggles with my posts. Maybe it can help Patriot-anons in their efforts to help normie-anons comprehend what's happening in the world. Love to all. Ausfag, o7)

2 of 2

Repost from Q Research General #9812

>>7668483 (pb)

‘I’m slowly dying here’: ‘Sedated’ Assange tells friend during Christmas Eve call from UK prison as health concerns mount

Julian Assange sounded like a shell of the man he once was during a Christmas Eve phone call, British journalist Vaughan Smith told RT, noting the WikiLeaks founder had trouble speaking and appeared to be drugged.

Assange was allowed to make just a single call from the maximum security Belmarsh prison in southeast London for the Christmas holiday, hoping for a reminder of the world beyond his drab confines of steel and concrete.

“I think he simply wanted a few minutes of escape” and to revive “happy memories,” Smith told RT, adding that Assange had spent the holiday at his home in 2010. The brief conversation was far from cheerful, however, with Assange’s deteriorating condition increasingly apparent throughout the call.

He said to me that: ‘I’m slowly dying here.’

“His speech was slurred. He was speaking slowly,” the journalist continued. “Now, Julian is highly articulate, a very clear person when he speaks. And he sounded awful… it was very upsetting to hear him”

Though Assange didn’t say it out loud during the call, Smith said he believes the anti-secrecy activist is being sedated, noting that “It seemed pretty obvious that he was,” and said others who visited Assange were of the same opinion.

Smith isn't the first to raise this issue, but British authorities have so far refused to divulge whether Assange has been given psychotropic drugs in prison, insisting only that they aren’t “mistreating” him. But given that he is “being kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day,” with requests by numerous doctors to examine his physical condition denied, Smith said he has a hard time taking the officials at their word.

“Julian was extremely good company over Christmas in 2010,” the journalist said, but the man he talked to on the phone last week sounded like a different person. “I just don’t understand… why he’s in Belmarsh Prison in the first place. He’s a remand prisoner. He’s not a danger to the public."

https://www.rt.com/uk/477138-assange-prison-awful-sedated-uk/

New George Papadopoulos Tweet

When the transcript of my meeting with Alexander Downer is released eventually, confirming that Downer and the Australian government were willfully spying on the Trump campaign, the US-Australia relationship will take years to recover, if ever. Bad move Australia. Bad move.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1211696437656006656

'How is anyone hiding such a monster?': Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts says '99% of people would turn in Ghislaine Maxwell' and asks who is protecting Jeffrey Epstein's 'pimp'

Virginia Roberts has accused friends and family of 'hiding' Ghislaine Maxwell so the British socialite can avoid an FBI probe into claims she acted as a pimp for paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

Roberts, who now calls herself Virginia Giuffre, asked in a furious tweet today: 'How is anyone, friend or family member, hiding such a monster?? 99% of the population would turn Ghislaine Maxwell. Who's hiding who and why??'

She ended the tweet with several hashtags including 'MonstersHidingMonsters' and 'PedosHidingInPlainSight.'

Roberts claims Maxwell recruited her into Epstein's circle before the financier forced her to have sex with his wealthy and powerful friends, including Prince Andrew when she was 17.

Prince Andrew, 59, who resigned from royal duties after a disastrous Newsnight interview last month, denies having sex with her and claims he can't remember meeting her despite a photograph of him with his arm around her.

Maxwell, the daughter of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, is one of several close associates of Epstein under investigation by the FBI but has so far not been interviewed and her whereabouts remain unknown.

She denies procuring underaged girls for Epstein, who killed himself in prison while awaiting trial.

A close friend said this week that Maxwell believes she can escape prosecution forever and return to her partying lifestyle because she has so much compromising information on powerful people.

Laura Goldman said Maxwell is being hidden by rich friends but plans to get back to normal 'once the dust has settled' and is 'totally convinced' that she can stay in hiding and eventually clear her name, The Sun Online reported.

Ms Goldman, who is friend's with Maxwell's sister, Isabel, said: 'Ghislaine and her sister Isabel remain totally convinced that she'll escape any criminal convictions and will eventually clear the family name and return to high society once the dust has settled.

'She has wealthy connections who hide her and even pay some legal fees. She can stay out of the public eye as long as she wants.'

The FBI is said to be investigating Maxwell and several others associated with Epstein suspected of possible involvement in his illegal activity.

Epstein´s suicide in August, at age 66, came a little over a month after he was arrested and charged with trafficking dozens of underage girls as young as 14 from at least 2002 to 2005. Prosecutors said he recruited girls to give him massages, which became sexual in nature.

Maxwell has previously accused Roberts of lying, leading Roberts to sue for defamation in 2017. Documents from that case, unearthed last week, contained further serious allegations against Maxwell including claims she threatened a 15-year-old Swedish girl when she refused to have sex.

Rinaldo Rizzo, a butler who worked for hedge fund billionaire Glenn Dubin, claimed Epstein and Maxwell brought the teenager with them when they visited his employers in New York and that he found the girl crying in the kitchen.

He said she described her alleged treatment at the hands of Maxwell and her assistant, Sarah Kellen, when she was being held at Epstein's property in the US Virgin Islands.

Mr Rizzo claimed the girl told him that Maxwell and Kellen had demanded sex from her and taken away her passport and threatened her when she refused.

He said she was 'distraught and shaking…literally quivering'.

He said in the documents: 'She proceeded to tell my wife and I… "I was on the island and there was Ghislaine, and there was Sarah," and she said, "They asked me for sex. I said no".'

Mr Rizzo then said: 'She didn't specify who asked for sex. She said they asked for sex.'

According to Mr Rizzo, after the young girl refused to have sex, Kellen took the young girl's phone and passport and gave them to Maxwell.

'And at that point, she said she was threatened,' Rizzo testified.

'And I said, "Threatened?"

'She says, "Yes. I was threatened by Ghislaine, not to discuss this".'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7840045/Prince-Andrew-accuser-Virginia-Roberts-asks-protecting-Jeffrey-Epsteins-pimp.html

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1211936411672174592

Repost from Q Research General #9818

>>7672766 (pb)

New HRC

New slush fund?

With Australia on fire and the Arctic in meltdown, it's clear we're in a climate emergency. I'm proud to support @EarthshotPrize from @KensingtonRoyal, a new effort to inspire Earth's greatest problem solvers to repair the natural world.

https://twitter.com/hillaryclinton/status/1212019680514334720?s=21

Israeli political appointment a 'slap in the face' to alleged Malka Leifer child abuse victims

Doubt has been cast over Australia's efforts to extradite alleged child abuser Malka Leifer from Israel, with concerns a new controversial political appointment could stall the process.

Ms Leifer faces 74 counts of sexual assault in Victoria relating to her time as principal of the Adass Israel School between 2001 and 2008.

She has been fighting to stay in Israel since an Australian extradition request was lodged in 2014, citing mental health concerns.

But there are fears the political elevation of an Israeli parliamentarian linked to the case could affect the extradition process.

Over the weekend, Yaakov Litzman was promoted to the role of Health Minister in Israel.

The move would normally receive limited media coverage locally, however it was immediately condemned by Australian Jewish groups and Ms Leifer's alleged victims.

That is because Israeli police have recommended that Mr Litzman be charged with fraud and breach of trust over actions he took when he was deputy health minister in relation to the Leifer case.

He allegedly pressed ministry employees to issue a false psychiatric report to block Ms Leifer's extradition on medical grounds.

One of the former principal's alleged victims, Dassi Erlich, said she was still in shock at news of the appointment.

"It makes an utter mockery of Israel," she said.

"In the eyes of everyone watching this case around the world and really in the eyes of all victims of abuse, it's a slap in the face."

Ms Erlich said she thought the appointment of Mr Litzman as Health Minister would make it harder for her alleged abuser to be brought back to Australia.

"We are completely devastated and shocked, utterly shocked," she said.

"I do believe this will make it more difficult."

Sends a terrible message to Australia: Zionist federation

In an open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler warned the appointment would "send a terrible message to the Australian people and most importantly to the survivors of Malka Leifer's alleged abuse."

"When we met just a few months ago in Jerusalem together with former Prime Minister, the Hon John Howard AC and other high profile former Australian political leaders, you assured me that your government would do everything in its power to facilitate the extradition of Malka Leifer to Australia to face justice for the very serious crimes she is accused of committing," the letter reads.

"On behalf of the Australian Jewish Community, I implore you to reconsider this appointment until the investigation into Yaakov Litzman has concluded."

The Attorney-General and acting Foreign Minister Christian Porter would not comment directly on the ministerial appointment, saying it was a matter for the relevant government.

However he said it did not alter the fact the allegations of improper conduct in relation to the Leifer case were of "great concern."

"The Australian Government remains strongly committed to ensuring that Malka Leifer faces justice," he said.

"Earlier this month I met personally with Government officials in Israel and reaffirmed our resolve to have Malka Leifer extradited to Australia to face 74 charges of child sexual abuse.

"The extradition matter is currently before the justice system in Israel and my call on Israeli authorities is for it to be resolved transparently and quickly."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-30/israeli-political-appointment-slap-in-the-face-to-alleged/11833042

http://www.zfa.com.au/open-letter-pm-netanyahu/

Repost from Q Research General #9837

>>7687215 (pb)

Ghislaine Maxwell’s powerful contacts protecting her in safe houses

https://pagesix.com/2020/01/01/ghislaine-maxwells-powerful-contacts-protecting-her-in-safe-houses/

Ghislaine Maxwell — the British socialite who’s long been accused of serving as Jeffrey Epstein’s madam — is hiding in a series of safe houses and is being “protected because of the information she has on the world’s most powerful people.”

Maxwell, 58, allegedly procured young women and groomed them to have sex with Epstein and his wealthy pals, but she has remained out of public view after the convicted sex offender’s re-arrest last year and his death in jail in August. She has always denied any wrongdoing.

On the heels of a Reuters report that Maxwell was the main focus of an investigation by the FBI into several “people who facilitated” the dead pedophile’s alleged sexual abuse, a source tells Page Six: “Ghislaine is protected. She and Jeffrey were assets of sorts for multiple foreign governments. They would trade information about the powerful people caught in his net — caught at Epstein’s house.”

The source added of Ghislaine, who has homes in Manhattan and London, “She is not in the US, she moves around. She is sometimes in the UK, but most often in other countries, such as Israel, where her powerful contacts have provided her with safe houses and protection.”

The source added that Britain’s disgraced Prince Andrew had begged Maxwell to come forward and give an interview to protect him after he was accused of having sex with one of Epstein’s most vocal accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, which he strongly denies. But Maxwell refused, forcing the prince to conduct his own disastrous interview. The source said: “Andrew pleaded with Ghislaine to publicly defend him. She carefully considered it, but decided no good would come of it (if she came forward). It isn’t in her best interests.” Lawyers for Maxwell didn’t get back to us.

The source also added, “If the US government was really interested in bringing in Ghislaine, the IRS would have looked at her tax returns and the income she may have got from Epstein and perhaps some of his powerful associates.”

Repost from Q Research General #9838

>>7688237 (pb)

Catherine Herridge

7:50 PM · Jan 1, 2020

Pens are a nice touch

---

Catherine Herridge Tweet

#FISA shows how quickly FBI case into Trump campaign aides evolved p50 July 28, 2016 intel from Australians, July 31 FBI case opened/p70 early August, FBI had already singled out 4 individuals appears to be Flynn, Manafort, Page, George P #Durham how early did those begin?

https://twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1212536501080412162

Reposts from Q Research General #9842

>>7691113 (pb)

KATHERINE KEATING AND FRANCESCO CARROZZINI PRESENT

ONE ON ONE

GHISLAINE MAXWELL ON PROTECTING THE WORLD'S OCEANS

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ghislaine-maxwell-interview_b_5358230

>>7691145 (pb)

>>7691113 (pb)

Ghislaine's interviewer, Katherine Keating, is the daughter of former Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7372745/Katherine-Keating-Jeffrey-Epstein-connection-Paul-Keating.html

Repost from Q Research General #9844

>>7692493 (pb)

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/bride-and-prejudice-micah-downey-dead-at-26

The star of the Australian reality series “Bride & Prejudice” died suddenly on Saturday. No cause of death has been revealed.

Downey’s death was confirmed by ex-fiancée Milly Johnson, who took to Instagram on Tuesday to announce the star’s death.

Repost from Q Research General #9844

>>7692871 (pb)

Comey likely got Australian intel on 29July16, BEFORE Crossfire Hurricane opened

Catherine Herridge @CBS_Herridge

#FISA Mid-August 2016 first formal briefing Comey though McCabe notes suggest Comey may have been told about Australian intel July 29 BEFORE Crossfire Hurricane opened. Comey “did not recall playing a role in making any significant investigative decisions” #MyHighlighter p69

https://twitter.com/CBS_Herridge/status/1212715528969768960

Repost from Q Research General #9851

>>7698457 (pb)

AWWWW SHIT…Even with their continent burning to the ground, Aussies are checking in on the Middle East.

Royal Australian Air Force NIGHT01

Repost from Q Research General #9852

>>7698714 (pb)

Bette Midler on Twitter

https://twitter.com/BetteMidler/status/1212897346423599105

>Pity the poor #Australians, their country ablaze, and their rotten @ScottMorrisonMP saying, “This is not the time to talk about Climate Change. We have to grow our economy.” What an idiot. What good is an economy in an uninhabitable country? Lead, you fuckwit!!

>Pity the poor #Australians, their country ablaze,

NOT LAUGHING AT THE POOR AUSSIES AT ALL, WE JUST USED ENERGY WEAPONS TO HELP THINGS ALONG A BIT

Repost from Q Research General #9852

>>7698823 (pb)

>>7698787 (pb)

>>7698811 (pb)

https://twitter.com/ThisIsGwyneth/status/1212941339546902529

Gwyneth Montenegro Tweet

Here in Australia, as the country burns, at last count, there was around 200 people under investigation for arson. That's a couple of hundred people lighting fires & blaming climate change. Climate Terrorism perhaps? It seems way too coordinated to be 200 random decisions.

Cabinet documents 1998-99: ACT laws tangled spies gathering foreign intelligence, Howard-era cabinet documents reveal

Australian spies hit a surprise snag as ACT laws against aiding and abetting crimes made some of their work potentially illegal, newly declassified documents show.

Howard government-era cabinet documents, released on Wednesday by the National Archives of Australia, said the territory's laws dealing with conspiracy mistakenly undermined two of the nation's spy agencies.

ACT laws against abetting or advising an illegal act put officers of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, and the then-Defence Signals Directorate, at risk of committing an offence when directing or supporting foreign intelligence gathering, the documents said.

While spies within Australia had to comply with the nation's laws, their work involved foreign law-breaking when collecting intelligence from overseas.

"Collection of foreign intelligence sometimes unavoidably entails breaking foreign laws, a situation long accepted as inherent to the task," the formerly secret cabinet documents said.

Officers were at "high risk" of committing an offence when directing overseas operations that broke laws in the foreign country, or would break laws in Canberra.

"This effectively makes such operations dependent on foreign laws," the cabinet documents said.

"Both agencies must carefully organise their operations to avoid possible breach of that law.

"That need, plus a degree of interpretive uncertainty about that law, has diminished the agencies' capabilities."

The documents, from June 1999, said ACT laws "significantly" impeded the operations of ASIS in gathering foreign intelligence, and DSD in intercepting signals.

Other states and territories had anti-conspiracy laws, but the ACT legislation applied most to the spy agencies because they were Canberra-based.

Howard-era foreign minister Alexander Downer, defence minister John Moore and attorney-general Daryl Williams told cabinet ministers new laws were needed to protect ASIS and DSD from the unintended consequences of ACT laws.

Cabinet documents showed the government's national security committee agreed to changes overcoming the legal barriers for spies "by conferring powers, protections and immunities" letting the agencies gather intelligence.

The committee also agreed to change laws stopping the DSD, now called the Australian Signals Directorate, and ASIS from accessing forms of intelligence "of considerable national security value" that had moved to the internet.

"Within a few years networks of interconnected computers - including the Internet - are expected to carry most of the world's information transactions," the cabinet documents said.

"Unless a legal basis is provided for such operations, DSD and ASIS consider Australia's ability to maintain and capitalise on the information edge it currently enjoys will erode as ever more targets move communications and information storage onto computer networks."

The committee also agreed to laws making ASIS a statutory agency and increasing scrutiny by forcing the agency, and DSD, to hand over records of intelligence gathering and reporting activity involving Australians.

National security ministers later agreed in December 1999 to create a committee of MPs to oversee ASIS in addition to national security agency ASIO.

The decisions followed the inquiry by Gordon Samuels recommending in 1995 that ASIS be established as a statutory agency, and made accountable to parliament.

The existence of ASIS was a secret for more than 20 years and it wasn't referred to in parliament until 1975.

Laws making the agency's work public for the first time came into being in 2001. The size of its workforce remains a secret.

The National Archives censored part of the cabinet documents for national security reasons.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6560575/act-laws-tangled-spies-gathering-foreign-intelligence/

US Navy puts wind in Austal's sails

Politicians give and receive all sorts of gifts. Back in 2011, Julia Gillard gave then US president Barack Obama an Australian rules football while three years later then Prime Minister Tony Abbott presented him with a surfboard.

Fast forward a few years and US president Donald Trump revived the nautical theme when Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited him at the White House in September.

Clearly impressed by the work of Australian shipbuilder Austal, now in the midst of a major building program for the US Navy, the US president presented Mr Morrison with a model of a ship now under construction at Austal’s facility in Alabama.

The model may have been a direct gift to the Prime Minister, but in effect it was a big reward to the Austal team headquartered in Western Australia and their shipbuilding crew in the US.

"I guess for me it’s unprecedented really, to see that kind of recognition for an Australian manufacturing company, maybe any company really, by the President of the United States," says Austal chief executive David Singleton.

"It asks the question doesn’t it, about why does it happen and why is it important? And I suppose it almost felt like it was the final accolade in what has been a tremendously successful program," he said.

Austal recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its operations in the US, a costly and ambitious play it launched to expand into the high-value defence sector. But it is a move that is paying off.

Austal’s US manufacturing push started with commercial vessels such as passenger ferries, before it transitioned to defence work from 2004.

President Trump gave the Prime Minister a model of a littoral combat ship, an all-aluminium trimaran combat vessel. It is designed to be multi-operational and has reputedly been described as the "Swiss Army knife of the US Navy fleet", because different modules can be fitted onto it to change it’s capabilities.

According to Austal, it is the only all-aluminium trimaran in service with any navy in the world.

While Mr Morrison’s gift fits in a glass case, the life-size version measures 127 metres in length and completed versions of it are already operating in US and Asian waters.

Austal has contracts with the US Navy worth more than $US12 billion ($17.5 billion) to manufacture 19 of them. The company is about half way through the bulky contract work, with nine of the ships already delivered.

(continued)

https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/us-navy-puts-wind-in-austal-s-sails-20191219-p53ld9.html

Australian paedophiles pay as little as $15 for Filipino children to perform sex acts for them online - as top cop says the 'convenience' of livestreaming greatly reduces risk for abusers

Australian paedophiles are paying between $15 and $500 for children in the Philippines to perform live sex acts on webcams, according to the Australian Federal Police.

More common types of 'sex tourism' are now being replaced with 'convenient and low risk' online abuse of children in what investigators called an 'alarming shift'.

'It includes the development of live online sexual abuse in pay-per-view. Online child sexual exploitation is one of the most alarming forms of human trafficking in the Philippines,' AFP senior officer Andrew Perkins told The Guardian.

Poor families in the Asian nation who are desperate to make ends meet are targeted by paedophiles in Australia.

For as little as $15, those paedophiles use webcams to livestream vulnerable Filipino children performing sex acts.

Perkins said some victim's families can be paid up to $500 depending on the child's age, number of victims, how many people are watching online, and the nature of the abuse.

'Combating child exploitation within Australia and offshore is a key priority for the Australian Federal Police. The work is time-consuming and resource-intensive,' he said.

Senior officer Perkins said it's difficult to provide required proof of probable cause as abusers use encrypted communications when purchasing livestreaming shows, or they don't download or store the material.

Paedophiles are also often able to hide their offending buy purchasing live adult shows, which is legal in Australia.

The AFP team in Manila working closely with local authorities led to some arrests, while more are expected to take place in Australia and in the Philippines.

The Philippines has been a hotbed in recent years for Australian paedophiles to target children.

'Australia's worst paedophile' Peter Gerard Scully was found guilty last year of raping and trafficking children in the Philippines as part of a global child pornography syndicate.

Terrence William Hainsworth, 61, raped a five-year-old Filipino girl until she was eight while he lived in Angeles City, north-west of Manila, between 2005 and 2008.

The victim was groomed, threatened and made to watch child porn.

In 2016, police discovered Hainsworth had taken pornographic images of the Filipino girl on his hard drive when they raided his Midland home, in Perth's north-east.

Some of the pornographic images were of the Filipino girl on her eighth birthday, which included photos of her with a birthday cake.

Earlier this year, a 63-year-old Australian man was accused of live-streaming child abuse from his Sydney home.

The man was arrested at his home in North Rocks, in western Sydney, on September 18.

The man allegedly communicated with people overseas to acquire the children – through a trusted adult – to produce and transmit the child abuse material.

The AFP requested international assistance through the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre amid suspicions of offshore offending.

The Philippine National Police then went a home in Rizal, about two hours east of Manila, on October 25 and rescued a 12-year-old girl.

The girl’s mother, who allegedly helped exploit her, was also arrested.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7770911/Australian-paedophiles-pay-little-15-Filipino-children-perform-sex-acts-online.html

Climate activists charged with trespassing on Scott Morrison's $920,000 home in bizarre protest say they were 'waiting to sh** in his pool' - but the prime minister didn't turn up

Two climate activists charged with trespassing at Scott Morrison's family home have flagrantly boasted of their alleged crimes on social media.

Dean Fletcher, 33, and 18-year-old Caitlin Cooper were arrested at the Prime Minister's house in south Sydney's Sutherland Shire on Friday morning.

Just hours after they were released on bail, the activists posted a video on YouTube bragging about entering the grounds of Mr Morrison's $920,000 house in a protest against his handling of the bushfire crisis.

Fletcher, 33, from Woolongong, admitted he planned to 's*** in his pool' and proudly claimed he had 'no remorse'.

He claimed they had 'put empty cans of drink' into Mr Morrison's recycling bin during the bizarre protest.

'We were waiting to s*** in his pool for him to be there, but that didn't happen,' Fletcher admitted in the 10-minute video.

Cooper, 18, who identifies as non-binary, then laughed and said: 'He didn't turn up, a no-show' before Fletcher replied: 'ScoMo the no-show.'

Mr Morrison shares the home with his wife Jenny and daughters Abbey and Lily - but does not live there full time because the Prime Minister has official residences in Canberra and Kirribilli, Sydney.

At the time of the protest he was in Victoria visiting fire-ravaged towns.

Police confirmed two people had been charged with trespassing. Officers said no damage was done to the property.

They were both charged with enter prescribed premises of any person without lawful excuse.

In equally bizarre footage posted on Twitter before his arrest, Fletcher filmed himself with a towel around his neck declaring a 'pool party at Scott's'.

He is seen walking up to Mr Morrison's family home and shouted 'hey, Mr Prime Minister! Scotty!'

The house is not seen in the footage.

The activist later boasted that the arrest report said he 'did not appear to feel any remorse' saying 'never have the police so accurately described' him.

'The description of the crime was perfect,' Fletcher said.

'In the arrest report the police say 'the accused does not appear to feel any remorse for his crimes and in fact appears to be quite proud of his actions'.

'And never, never, have the police so accurately described me. It's like I finally feel seen by the state. They see me, they aknowledge me, they hear me and they know me. It's a beautiful thing. And thank you Scott, for that.'

He went on to explain that Mr Morrison's concerned neighbours had called the police because 'they're all snitches down in the Shire'.

'We assumed there'd be a police presence but the big thing was, Scott did invite everyone round to watch the cricket instead of paying attention to the bushfires,' Fletcher went on.

'So it's not really our fault. Because we were there by invitation. We'll see how it holds up in court, but I don't think old ScoMo's got a leg to stand on.

'We took the Prime Minister at his word when he said everyone should be watching the cricket instead of paying attention to the devastation of the fires, even as he jams his hand into the face of people who don't want to talk to him.

'We were there to talk to him, we'd have shaken his hand, we'd have had a drink with him.

'You know how else would have had a drink with us if we showed up at their house? Bob Hawke, Tony Abbot. The great leaders of yesteryear.'

It comes as the embattled prime minister defends his handling of the bushfire crisis, which has seen him criticised by locals in the fire-ravaged town of Combargo.

(continued)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7848777/Climate-activists-brag-trespassing-Scott-Morrisons-home-planned-s-pool.html

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

>Not all are awake.

>4-6% LOST FOREVER.

Mexico's president hopes Julian Assange is 'forgiven and released'

Mexico's president hopes Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will soon be pardoned and freed.

The President of Mexico has expressed his solidarity with Julian Assange, saying he hopes the Australian WikiLeaks founder will soon be pardoned and freed.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said liberating Assange would be a "just cause."

Assange, 48, is in a British jail for skipping bail when he sought asylum in Ecuador's embassy in London, where he spent nearly seven years to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape that were dropped in November.

He is also battling US attempts to extradite him over Wikileaks' publication of vast caches of leaked military documents and diplomatic cables. He faces a lengthy prison term if extradited to the US.

The full extradition hearing is due to begin in February and is expected to last up to four weeks.

A UN human rights investigator last year said Assange has suffered psychological torture from a defamation campaign and should not be extradited to the United States where he would face a "politicized show trial."

Lopez Obrador expressed his solidarity with Assange and said he hoped the former hacker and activist is "forgiven and released."

The Mexican president told a press conference in his country that cables published by WikiLeaks demonstrated the workings of the global system and its "authoritarian" nature.

"I hope that this is taken into consideration and he is freed and he is no longer tortured," he said.

"There are cables that came to light from when we were in opposition and they spoke about our struggle and I can corroborate that they are true, that is to say what is in them was accurate, they revealed illegal relationships, illegitimate acts, violations of sovereignty, contrary to democracy, against freedoms, this is what is in there.

"So I express my solidarity, and my wish that he is pardoned and that it is considered, that he is liberated he could offer an apology.

"Liberating him will be a very just cause for human rights, it will be an act of humility on the part of the authority that has to decide on the liberty of this journalist."

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/mexico-s-president-hopes-julian-assange-is-forgiven-and-released

PM calls for restraint of US-Iran tensions as embassy 'locked down'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he will pursue "restraint" and a "de-escalation" of tensions in the Middle East after admitting his government was blind sided by US President Donald Trump’s decision to take out a top Iranian military commander in a Baghdad air strike.

Mr Morrison said the Australian embassy in Iraq was now in lockdown after a targeted US drone strike at Baghdad Airport killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force in the Middle East, early on Friday.

A second US air strike on Saturday, targeting an Iraqi militia, killed six people on Taji road north of Baghdad, near Camp Taji, an Australian military base.

About 280 Australian Defence personnel are currently stationed at the base.

Mr Morrison said he was not advised of the Trump administration’s intentions prior to the strikes, but was in "constant contact" with allies in the region and had made efforts to ensure the safety of Australians.

"The United States took this action based on their own information and they took that action without discussing it with partners," Mr Morrison said on Saturday.

He said he had "been aware" of Mr Trump’s concerns in relation to some practices by Iranians "for some time", but he would "leave it to them to talk to what their actions are".

"We've been aware of their strong views about those things for many years and I think that speaks for itself," Mr Morrison said.

"We are very mindful and have spent a lot of effort focusing on those Australians who find themselves in the Middle East at this point and particularly in Iraq and also in diplomatic posts in the region.

"Our goal remains a united and stable Iraq, which is what also the Canadian government have said and we echo the sentiments they've expressed."

The strike has marked a major escalation in the conflict between Washington and Iran, as Iran vowed "harsh retaliation".

The two nations have faced repeated crises since Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions.

British government officials expressed alarm about the lack of consultation from the US, with Downing Street taken "by surprise", causing anger among ministers who had to scramble to react to the rapidly-escalating crisis.

Mr Morrison said Australia’s Baghdad embassy had moved to "a very heightened sense of security" and was "effectively in lockdown" following the strikes.

He said Australia’s 2000 personnel deployment was "always under constant reassessment" and this was particularly the case in the Middle East.

"We have personnel in Iraq in three separate locations and the CDF

[Chief of the Defence Force, General Angus Campbell] and his team are doing a reassessment but we are making sure that they are as safe as we can make them," he said.

Mr Morrison said Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds and Foreign Minister Marise Payne would be speaking to the US counterparts on Saturday.

Australia has committed the HMAS Toowoomba, with 177 sailors, to join a US-led coalition to guard against oil supplies being threatened by Iran in the increasingly tense Strait of Hormuz in February.

Mr Morrison said the ship would be making its way towards India in the coming days and the government would "continue to monitor that situation very closely".

Mr Trump said he ordered the killing of Soleimani because the general was "plotting to kill" many Americans and was also responsible for killing and wounding "thousands" of Americans in the region.

"He should have been taken out many years ago," Trump tweeted from his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he was on holiday.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pm-calls-for-restraint-of-us-iran-tensions-as-embassy-locked-down-20200104-p53orx.html

Morrison officially postpones India, Japan visit during national bushfire crisis

Scott Morrison says he will attempt to travel to India and Japan in the coming months after formally cancelling next week’s official prime ministerial visit.

Mr Morrison personally called his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and Japan’s Australian ambassador on Friday night to postpone his trip amid a worsening bushfire crisis across four states.

He said he was left with no option but to delay the visit and both nations understood the “ongoing nature” of the situation across Australia's eastern seaboard.

Mr Morrison said his focus had to be on leading the Commonwealth’s efforts managing disaster relief and rebuilding infrastructure in co-operation with state governments.

“That will be a big focus of my efforts, particularly over the course of this month… and continuing to go out and listen to those on the ground and provide what comfort we can through making the visits,” Mr Morrison said on Saturday.

He said both nations had offered their “sincerest” wishes and “deep sympathies” to the Australian people.

Mr Morrison stressed he would attempt to reschedule the meetings, preferably early this year, when “arrangements can align”.

“There was a lot of work we were looking forward to doing at those meetings, both of those meetings,” Mr Morrison said on Saturday.

“We were at an advanced stage when it came to defence, intelligence and security arrangements with India and Japan and we were looking to progress those as well as broader trade discussions.”

Mr Modi said in a statement he expressed "heartfelt condolences" on behalf of all Indians on the fire's toll on life and property.

He also offered India's "unstinted support" to Australia and its people, "who are bravely facing this unprecedented natural calamity" and reiterated India's commitment to strengthen its strategic partnership with Australia.

He said he looked forward to welcoming Mr Morrison in India on a state visit at “a mutually convenient time” later in the year.

The trip came at a difficult time for the Prime Minister, who has been criticised for his government's response to the fires burning around the country.

He was forced to cut short a holiday to Hawaii just before Christmas following the death of two volunteer firefighters, saying he "deeply" regretted any offence caused by taking leave with his family during the crisis.

Mr Morrison said he had not taken criticism personally and said the issue should not be about him.

“It's not about those problems. It's not about any of those issues. It's about the people who need the support on the ground,” he said.

“And that's what I'm focused on. My biggest focus at the moment is continuing to roll out the support of the Australian Defence Force.”

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/morrison-officially-postpones-india-japan-visit-during-national-bushfire-crisis-20200104-p53otu.html

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1598429

Pell appeal highlights 'opportunity' doubt

New court documents filed by lawyers for pedophile George Pell argue previous findings against the cardinal failed to eliminate doubt about his opportunity to sexually abuse choirboys.

The 21-page appeal document lodged with the High Court on Friday will be the basis for Pell's final bid to overturn his child sexual abuse convictions.

His legal team argue Victoria's Court of Appeal overlooked vital elements when two out of three judges upheld the guilty verdicts, leading the 78-year-old to a maximum six-year prison term.

"The majority erred as, in light of findings made by them, there did remain a reasonable doubt as to the existence of any opportunity for the offending to have occurred," the document read.

Pell's lawyers have previously stated it was the responsibility of prosecutors to eliminate any doubt for jurors.

Barristers Bret Walker SC and Ruth Shann, representing Pell, estimate they will need no more than four hours to make verbal submissions to the High Court.

A full bench of the court is due to consider the grounds of appeal during a hearing in March.

Pell is Australia's most senior Catholic and was jailed for sexually assaulting two choirboys at Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral while he was Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996.

The High Court agreed to grant Pell special leave to present his case. After hearing legal arguments, the High Court could refuse or approve Pell's application. It could also allow or dismiss the appeal.

https://www.thecourier.com.au/story/6566234/pell-appeal-highlights-opportunity-doubt/

https://www.hcourt.gov.au/cases/case_m112-2019

Twitter is promoting child abuse under new policy, alleges Australia-based professor

Michael Salter has flagged Twitter’s 2019 child sexual exploitation policy and expressed concern that it will not take action against instances of online abuse.

New Delhi: Twitter’s child sexual exploitation policy has been pulled up by an Australia-based academic, who said the micro-blogging site promotes paedophilia and encourages talk about abuse of minors.

Michael Salter, an associate professor of criminology at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said on the social media platform Friday: “…Twitter quietly changed its terms of service to permit discussion about attraction towards minors…”

Twitter’s March 2019 policy on child sexual abuse says that any discussion on attraction towards minors is permitted, “provided they don’t promote or glorify child sexual exploitation in any way”.

ThePrint has emailed Twitter with questions about Salter’s allegations, and this report will be updated when it responds.

‘Twitter has prioritised paedophiles’

In the same tweet thread, Salter also expressed concern that the micro-blogging site will not take action against reported instances of online abuse.

Salter, who is also a board director at the Washington D.C.-based International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, said: “…sexual desires and social inclusion of paedophiles have been prioritised by Twitter over the safety of children on the platform.”

Salter’s accusations come barely two months after UK-based Internet Watch Foundation revealed that nearly half of child sexual abuse content in the social media space was being shared openly on Twitter.

Salter alleged that paedophile networks have “exploded” on Twitter in the past one year. “This includes users who justify child sexual abuse material, and demand access to child sexual abuse dolls,” he wrote. He added that he had no confidence in Twitter taking action against a user who claims to be “attracted to children, advocates for contact offending against children, and has an image of him with a child in his bio picture.”

Salter has alleged that Twitter’s head of product approves encryption of the site’s private messaging service, and it is only likely to exacerbate paedophilic content.

The amended policy

Twitter’s amended policy considers anyone under the age of 18 as a minor. The updated policy allows artistic depictions of nude minors in “a non-sexualised context” in some cases, such as works by internationally-renowned artists which feature children.

This change, Salter claimed, was made on the recommendations of “forensic psychs” (mental health professionals) who “wanted a forum” for individuals diagnosed with paedophilic disorder to discuss their issues.

Salter added that no child-protection or abuse-prevention experts were consulted since they would have never endorsed the new policy.

https://theprint.in/world/twitter-is-promoting-child-abuse-under-new-policy-alleges-australia-based-professor/344738/

https://twitter.com/mike_salter/status/1212888625148416000

https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/sexual-exploitation-policy

https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/twitter-ahead-has-more-child-abuse-than-other-social-media-platforms/articleshow/72002539.cms

Donald Trump calls Scott Morrison to send his 'sympathy, support and friendship' to Australia amid killer bushfires

Donald Trump has called Scott Morrison to extend his sympathies to Australia following killer bushfires.

Mr Morrison thanked the President in a Tweet after their discussion.

He wrote: 'Thanks for the call @realDonaldTrump and for your strong messages of sympathy, support and friendship for Australia during our terrible bushfire season'.

'Thanks also to the American people for their many messages of support. Australia and the US are great mates.'

Mr Morrison also posted two emojis of the Australian and US flags.

Earlier today he spoke with British PM Boris Johnson about the fires.

Mr Johnson said in a Tweet that the UK was ready to provide any assistance required.

Mr Morrison responded in a Tweet: 'Thanks @BorisJohnson and also for the personal message overnight. Appreciate all the support - the UK is a great friend of Australia.'

On Tuesday Australian firefighters used cool weather to strengthen containment lines around almost 200 wildfires burning in the country's southeast.

Fires have razed more than 8million hectares of land across Australia, an area nearly the size of Austria, killing 25 people and destroying or damaging thousands of homes.

The Insurance Council of Australia increased its estimate for damages claims from the fires to more than $700million on Tuesday, with claims expected to jump further when more fire-hit areas are accessible.

Thousands of people have been left homeless, while many in rural towns have spent days without electricity, telecommunications and, in some cases, drinking water. Military-coordinated rescue and support efforts were ongoing.

Morrison, who has been criticised for his handling of the crisis, on Monday pledged $2 billion to a newly created National Bushfire Recovery Agency, a commitment that could threaten his election promise to deliver the first budget surplus in more than a decade this financial year.

'There's going to be a very significant economic impact, but … we want to get money out into these communities as fast as possible,' Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told the Australian Broadcasting Corp ahead of planned meetings between Morrison and financial bosses.

On the ground, firefighters were working to get as much control over the huge blazes as possible before forecast high temperatures and winds return later in the week, threatening to ignite a fresh wave of fires.

'They are trying to secure fire lines where they can to try and minimise where these fires will burn again when conditions do warm up,' Rob Rogers, NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Deputy Commissioner told reporters in a morning briefing.

'We have no prospect of containment on all those fires, but we can use this time.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7859237/Donald-Trump-calls-Scott-Morrison-bushfires.html

Repost from Q Research General #9894

>>7731428 (pb)

Nearly 200 People Arrested Across Australia For Deliberately Starting Bushfires

Authorities in Australia have arrested close to 200 people for deliberately starting the bushfires that have devastated the country, yet the media and celebrities continue to blame “climate change” for the disaster.

The fires have caused at least 18 deaths, destroyed thousands of homes, millions of hectares of land and killed hundreds of millions of animals.

A total of 183 people have been arrested by police in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania for lighting bushfires over the last few months, figures obtained by news agency AAP show.

In New South Wales, 24 people were arrested for arson, risking prison sentences of up to 25 years.

In Queensland, police concluded that 103 of the fires had been deliberately lit, with 98 people, 67 of them juveniles, having been identified as the culprits.

“The link between arsonists and the deadly fires that devastate Australia every summer is well known and well documented, with the rate of deliberately lit fires escalating rapidly during the school holiday period,” reports Breitbart’s Simon Kent.

Around 85 per cent of bushfires are caused by humans either deliberately or accidentally starting them, according to Dr Paul Read, co-director of the National Centre for Research in Bushfire and Arson.

“About 85 per cent are related to human activity, 13 per cent confirmed arson and 37 per cent suspected arson,” he said.

“The remainder are usually due to reckless fire lighting or even just children playing with fire.”

Read also highlighted the link between school holidays and kids starting fires, commenting, “School holidays are a prime time for fire bugs, but especially over summer.” The kids have got time to get out there and light, and the most dangerous adults choose hot days.”

Police are now working on the premise arson is to blame for much of the devastation caused this bushfire season. A strike force will investigate whether blazes were deliberately lit, and bring those responsible to justice. https://t.co/TWh1KQycs4 @ebatten7 #NSWFires #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/Dul8dMFrZv

— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) January 3, 2020

“Police are now working on the premise arson is to blame for much of the devastation caused this bushfire season,” reports 7 News Sydney.

New environmental policies that restrict “prescribed burning,” where land owners burn off flammable ground cover in cooler months in a controlled manner so it doesn’t contribute to bushfires, have also exacerbated the problem.

The fact that the bushfires were deliberately started and have nothing to do with man-made climate change hasn’t prevented that being the dominant narrative.

Last week, Bernie Sanders blamed those who were “delaying action on climate change” for “the blood-red sky and unbreathable air in Australia because of raging forest fires.”

Virtue-signaling celebrities have also pounced on the issue to push their dogma, including at the Golden Globes last night when Australian-born Cate Blanchett asserted, “When one country faces a climate disaster, we all face a climate disaster.”

'When one country faces a climate disaster, we all face a climate disaster.'

Australian-born Cate Blanchett took to the stage at the #GoldenGlobes to highlight the wildfires fires ravaging her native country and demand action against climate changehttps://t.co/pVuyhgrFDh pic.twitter.com/Bb25YwfQGi

— ITV News (@itvnews) January 6, 2020

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/nearly-200-people-arrested-across-australia-deliberately-starting-bushfires

Repost from Q Research General #9903

>>7738707 (pb)

The ugly truth about viral image of bushfires from space

The scale of the bushfire disaster and the horrifying images emanating from Australia right now need no exaggeration – and yet, deliberately or not, images and claims have been circulating online that aren’t what they appear to be.

There have been numerous pictures, videos and claims spread online during this ongoing crisis that don’t stack up. Some appear to have been deliberately intended to spread falsehoods while others accidentally took on a life of their own on social media, with the underlying truth becoming lost along the way.

One of the latest is a widely shared composition image of satellite data purporting to show fire-affected areas for the past four weeks, with the 3D render of the image giving an exaggerated effect. However many have shared it believing it shows the scale of fires from space.

After it went viral, creator Anthony Hearsey, sought to clarify the true nature of the image.

“Didn’t realise this would go viral … This is a 3D visualisation of the fires in Australia. NOT A PHOTO. Think of this as a prettier looking graph,” he explained.

“This is made from data from NASA’s FIRMS (Satellite data regarding fires) between 05/12/19 - 05/01/20.

These are all the areas which have been affected by bushfires.

“Scale is a little exaggerated due to the render’s glow, but generally true to the info from the NASA website. Also note that NOT all the areas are still burning, and this is a compilation.”

Despite the clarification, it continued to be shared Tuesday morning including by celebrity Jason Momoa who posted it to his 14.4 million Instagram followers.

Another pair of images doing the rounds shows continental Australia being overlaid with the United States with an exaggerated number of fires burning. One has even been posted by America’s ABC News.

It follows a string of misinformation and misrepresentation online surrounding the bushfires.

An online petition this week which claimed a volunteer fire fighter who delivered an expletive-laden reproach to the Prime Minister could be stood down was completely untrue.

Also this week, UK media outlet The Sun shared a video of firefighter rejoicing in the field as rain falls. The only problem is the video is actually from November.

Earlier, a particularly harrowing photo of a mother and her children hiding in the water to escape 2013 fires in Tasmania was circulated as if it was from the current disaster.

At the more extreme end, some accounts, including online bots, have shared the more ludicrous conspiracy theory that environmentalists are lighting fires to further the agenda of climate action. While The Australian reported on Tuesday there has been 183 arrests made this fire season for arson, there has been no suggestion or evidence that any of them have been politically or ideologically motivated.

According to Dr Timothy Graham from Queensland’s University of Technology, there is a lot of bot and troll activity surrounding the #ArsonEmergency hashtag.

“Based on my analysis it appears that the bushfires have catapulted Australia into the global disinformation space, and the #ArsonEmergency hashtag is a prime example right now,” he told Yahoo News Australia.

The corrosive affect of false information

While misinformation is not a new problem, it can be a problem that goes global very quickly with the opaque and ubiquitous world of social media.

Aside from muddying the waters during the time of a crisis, the big problem is that it erodes the overall trust in information being disseminated under the catch-all term of media.

Dr Andrea Carson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy at Melbourne’s La Trobe University and has researched the “weaponisation” of fake news and the changing nature of online misinformation.

She says there is a “direct correlation” between declining trust in media and the explosion of social media as a news source.

au.news.yahoo.com/the-ugly-truth-behind-viral-image-of-australian-bushfires-from-space-054009252.html

Donald Trump Jr. Tweet

Truly Disgusting that people would do this! God Bless Australia.

More than 180 alleged arsonists have been arrested since the start of the bushfire season, with 29 blazes deliberately lit in the Shoalhaven region of southeast NSW in just three months.

https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1214565369697845249

Bushfires: Firebugs fuelling crisis as national arson arrest toll hits 183

More than 180 alleged arsonists have been arrested since the start of the bushfire season, with 29 blazes deliberately lit in the Shoalhaven region of southeast NSW in just three months.

The Shoalhaven fires were lit between July and September last year, with Kempsey recording 27 deliberately lit fires, NSW Bureau of Crime and Statistics and Research data shows.

Police arrested 183 people for lighting bushfires across Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania in the past few months.

NSW police data shows that since November 8, 24 people have been arrested for deliberately starting bushfires, while 183 people have been charged or cautioned for bushfire-related offences.

These offences include discarding lit cigarettes, setting off fireworks and failing to comply with a total fire ban.

Queensland police say 101 people have been picked up for setting fires in the bush, 32 adults and 69 juveniles.

In Tasmania, where fires have sprung up in the north of the state and outside Hobart, five were caught setting fire to vegetation. Victoria reported 43 charged for 2019.

(continued)

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/bushfires-firebugs-fuelling-crisis-asarson-arresttollhits183/news-story/52536dc9ca9bb87b7c76d36ed1acf53f

Australians safe after attacks in Iraq: PM

Australian troops and diplomats have been confirmed safe after Iran attacked coalition forces in Iraq.

"We're doing everything to ensure their continued safety," Scott Morrison told reporters on Wednesday.

The prime minister said the situation in Iraq was "fluid" after Iran launched attacks on two US military bases.

Defence chief Angus Campbell has been told to do whatever is necessary to keep Australians safe.

Iran launched more than a dozen surface-to-air missiles in retaliation for the killing of its most senior military leader Qasem Soleimani.

US and coalition forces at the Al-Assad and Irbil bases have come under attack.

Australian troops are located close to where the attacks took place.

"The government is closely monitoring the unfolding events in Iraq," Scott Morrison said.

The prime minister has directed Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell to do "whatever actions are necessary" to protect and defend Australian military and diplomatic personnel.

The national security committee of cabinet has been meeting since Saturday to review the situation.

It is due to meet again on Thursday.

The prime minister has briefed Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese on the unfolding situation.

Mr Albanese has urged the United States and Iran to exercise restraint.

"I don't want to see Australia drawn into a military conflict in the Middle East," he told reporters in Adelaide.

"The first priority should be ensuring that Australians are kept safe."

The Pentagon says it has taken "all appropriate measures" to safeguard its personnel and partners.

"These bases have been on high alert due to indications that the Iranian regime planned to attack our forces and interests in the region," a US Department of Defense spokesman said.

"As we evaluate the situation and our response, we will take all necessary measures to protect and defend US personnel, partners and allies in the region."

Mr Morrison learnt about the attack while flying from Canberra to South Australia to visit bushfire-ravaged Kangaroo Island.

He has spoken with General Campbell and minister Linda Reynolds about the rocket attacks.

There are reports "shelter in place" sirens have been heard at the Taji base in northern Baghdad, which houses Australian and allied troops.

Australia has hundreds of troops deployed to Iraq along with diplomats housed at an embassy in Baghdad.

https://www.bellingencourier.com.au/story/6571495/australians-safe-after-attacks-in-iraq-pm/

Erlich welcomes leaders’ support

DASSI Erlich this week welcomed the outpouring of support for her and other alleged victims of Malka Leifer following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision late last year to appoint Yaakov Litzman as Health Minister.

Erlich said she was shocked and devastated at the appointment of Litzman, who Israeli police allege has been helping alleged child sexual abuser Malka Leifer evade justice.

“The biggest worry for us is that the psychiatrists who are currently writing a report answer to Litzman,” Erlich said, speaking to The AJN ahead of the next hearing.

“What does this mean for the next report?”

Psychiatrists are due to submit a report by today (Friday) and the contents of the report will be presented to court on Tuesday (January 14).

The report is set to determine if Leifer is fit to proceed to extradition proceedings to face 75 charges in relation to child sexual abuse in Australia.

Erlich said leaders publicly supporting the cause is heartwarming.

“For everyone watching the case around the world, it sends a boost that leaders are willing to stand up for this,” Erlich said.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) president Jillian Segal said earlier this month she was “shocked by the appointment of Yaakov Litzman to a senior cabinet position despite an ongoing investigation over serious allegations of breach of trust and fraud, in relation to Yaakov Litzman’s role in obstructing the extradition of Malka Leifer”.

“These are matters that are considered in Australia as gravely serious and we would like to think they are considered with the same seriousness in Israel.”

Zionist Federation of Australia’s president Jeremy Leibler wrote to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating that, “neither the Jewish community nor the Australian people, nor the community of Australian olim deserve to be treated this way” and urged him to reconsider Litzman’s appointment.

Slamming the appointment as “deplorable”, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council said “How do you balance moral integrity and pure political survival? We think the Prime Minister has badly erred in prioritising the latter over the former on this occasion.”

Federal Member for Macnamara Josh Burns said the move was “deeply disappointing” while former Victorian premier Ted Baillieu described it as “wilful contempt for Leifer’s victims”.

Calling for Leifer’s extradition “without delay”, the Australasian Union of Jewish Students passed a motion at the recent World Union of Jewish Students Congress stating that Litzman’s appointment while he is under investigation “is an insult and an outrage”

https://ajn.timesofisrael.com/erlich-welcomes-leaders-support/

Scott Morrison confirms Australian troops will remain in Iraq after Iran's missile attack on US bases

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia will continue its military mission in Iraq, despite Iran's missile attacks on United States bases in the country.

The National Security Committee of Cabinet met in Canberra today to discuss the unfolding situation in the Middle East.

Speaking shortly after the meeting, Mr Morrison said Australia remained committed to countering Islamic State in Iraq, but that the Government would continue to monitor the situation closely.

He justified the decision by saying "the situation overnight has stabilised".

"The cessation of those immediate hostilities that we saw yesterday and the nature of the statement also issued [by US President Donald Trump] today, as well as the intelligence that we have, means that we are in a position to continue to undertake the mission that we have set for ourselves in the Middle East," he said.

Approximately 300 Australian troops and diplomatic personnel are stationed in Iraq, mostly in the Taji base near Baghdad.

The ADF is helping to train the Iraqi military as part of an operation to tackle terrorism in the region.

Escalating tensions between US and Iran

Mr Trump gave an address on Thursday morning in which he said Iran appeared to be "standing down".

It followed missile attacks from Iran on US military bases in Iraq, launched in response to the killing of Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani by the US last week.

Mr Morrison said he had discussed developments with allies such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

"There is a strong uniformity of view about the partners and we remain together, and working together to ensure not only the safety of our own people, but to also ensure that we are in a position to continue to build a stronger Iraq," he said.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese said earlier in the day that it was too soon to be commenting on whether Australia should be leaving Iraq before he had received a security briefing.

"These things should not be done on the run. This is potentially a very serious matter," he said.

"Indeed, I have said though, that there shouldn't be a further escalation by any party."

No news for Australian academic

Mr Morrison also said the Government continued to exercise all opportunities available to it to secure the release from prison in Iran of Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert.

On Wednesday, Iran expert Amin Saikal said the escalating tensions had reduced the chance of her release.

Dr Moore-Gilbert has been held in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran since October 2018.

She was convicted of spying and sentenced to 10 years in jail.

A recent appeal failed and in December she started a hunger strike.

"Her cause is not assisted by me or anyone else, for that matter, engaging in broader commentary on it," Mr Morrison said.

HMAS Toowoomba is due to leave on Monday on its mission to protect shipping lanes off the coast of Iran as part of a regular rotation of Australians vessels through the Middle East.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-09/scott-morrison-australia-military-mission-iraq-iran/11855490

>>7760138

Panel finds accused sex abuser Leifer fit to stand trial, feigned mental illness

Court-ordered medical board will present findings at hearing next week, ahead of judge’s decision on whether to move forward with extraditing alleged serial pedophile to Australia

A court ordered psychiatric panel has determined that alleged serial pedophile Malka Leifer has been feigning mental illness in order to avoid extradition to Australia, and assesses her as fit to stand trial, an official with knowledge of the case confirmed to The Times of Israel on Thursday.

The three-member panel had been convened on orders from Jerusalem District Court Judge Chana Lomp, who determined in September that the evidence regarding Leifer’s mental state was contradictory and not sufficient for her to rule on whether to move forward with extradition.

Leifer is wanted in Australia on 74 charges of child sex abuse allegedly perpetrated against several of her students while she served as the headmistress of the Adass Israel ultra-Orthodox school in Melbourne from 2000 to 2008.

he psychiatric panel had been slated to present its findings last month, but on the day of its court-ordered deadline, the head of the medical board notified Lomp that he needed additional time to complete the evaluation.

The delay deeply angered officials in Australia, who have already been outspoken about Israel’s handling of the case — and particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision in December to appoint United Torah Judaism chairman Yaakov Litzman as health minister.

Police in July recommended that Litzman be charged for pressuring Health Ministry officials to deem Leifer mentally unfit for extradition. One of the psychiatrists alleged to have been influenced by Litzman, Chief Jerusalem District Psychiatrist Jacob Charnes, changed his medical conclusion regarding Leifer’s mental health three times since the case began, causing significant delays in the process.

The Jerusalem District Court is slated to convene next Tuesday, when the report on Leifer compiled by the psychiatric panel will be reviewed and both sides will be given the opportunity to cross-examine the doctors who evaluated the suspect. This is likely to require more than a single hearing.

The conclusion of the panel that Leifer has been feigning mental illness is likely to be the driving factor in Lomp’s decision on whether to move forward with extradition, given that she personally had ordered it be convened.

However, officials in the prosecution have refused to provide a timeline on when Leifer is likely to be extradited as they expect her attorneys to appeal the final decision, further delaying the process by months.

Leifer’s lawyers Tal Gabbay and Yehuda Fried said in a joint statement that the conclusions of the psychiatric panel were “no surprise.” Nonetheless, they expressed confidence that the Jerusalem District Court would reject the findings, and instead rely on the several experts — including Charnes — who determined that their client is not fit to stand trial.

Dassi Erlich, one of Malka Leifer’s alleged victims, excitedly hailed Thursday’s developments in a tweet: “We cannot believe this day has come!!! Incredible news!! We knew this all along! Such a long wait, justice has come!!”

In 2000, Leifer left Israel to work at the all-girls Adass Israel ultra-Orthodox school in Melbourne. When allegations of sexual abuse against her began to surface eight years later, members of the school board purchased the mother of eight a plane ticket back to Israel, allowing her to avoid being charged.

She was arrested in Israel in 2014 after Australia filed for extradition, but a Jerusalem court suspended the proceedings in 2016, deeming her mentally unfit to stand trial. She was rearrested in 2018 after being filmed appearing to lead a fully functional life.

Both the prosecution and defense opposed Lomp’s appointment of a new panel last October, arguing that sufficient evidence had been submitted to reach a verdict.

The state has relied on the legal opinions of three district psychiatrists issued over the last two years that determined that Leifer is mentally fit to face justice.

Leifer’s attorneys, meanwhile, cited testimony from prison doctors, who say she takes the highest dosage of anti-psychotic medication. They also flew in several attorneys from around the world to argue that Leifer is not mentally competent.

Fried and Gabay have dismissed the undercover film of Leifer and insist that she suffers from mental illness, but that the debilitating panic attacks that she experiences largely occur when she is in situations of stress, such as in prison or at court hearings.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/panel-finds-accused-sex-abuser-leifer-fit-to-stand-trial-feigned-mental-illness/

Australia echoes western leaders in alleging Iran accidentally downed Ukraine plane

Prime minister Scott Morrison says intelligence shows two missiles targeted the Boeing 737-800 jet, killing all 176 people onboard

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has backed other western leaders including Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau and Boris Johnson in alleging Iran accidentally shot down a passenger jet in Tehran shortly after a volley of missile fire aimed at US military bases in the region.

Intelligence sources told the Guardian their assessments suggest two surface-to-air missiles had targeted the Boeing 737-800 passenger jet that crashed in Iran on Wednesday morning, killing all 176 people onboard.

Morrison told reporters in Canberra: “Australia has received similar intelligence to … Canada and from out of the United States… all of that intelligence presented to us today does not suggest an intentional act.”

Morrison said a full and independent inquiry into the incident was needed, and the black boxes from the plane – which Iran is currently refusing to release – should be made available to investigators outside of Iran.

“It’s absolutely critical that a full and transparent investigation is undertaken into this terrible event and that would include undertaking all efforts to ensure we get recovery of the black box recorder that can obviously inform that investigation.”

Morrison’s comments follow those of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau who said his country “will not rest” until it got justice for the loss of Canadian lives.

Of the 176 people onboard, 79 were Iranian, 63 were Canadian and 11 were Ukrainian (including nine crew members), along with 10 Swedes, seven Afghans, three Britons and three German nationals.

“We have intelligence, including from our allies and own intelligence that the plane was shot down by Iranian surface-to-air missiles,” Trudeau said. “Canadians want answers. That means transparency, accountability and justice.”

Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 aircraft crashed in farmland on the outskirts of Tehran a few hours after Iran had fired more than a dozen missiles at US bases in Iraq. Commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have said that in the hours after the missile strikes, they were on high alert, anticipating an imminent American response.

The Iranian missile strikes were retribution for the US assassination, by reaper drone, of Iran’s most powerful general Qassem Soleimani, in an attack at Baghdad airport last week.

Australia is part of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network – along with the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand – that cooperates on intelligence measures, and so will have seen the same intelligence material its allies have.

The black boxes from the flight have been found and secured by Iranian authorities who say they will not share them with US aviation authorities or with the aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, but will give Ukrainian investigators access to the investigation.

The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, said there was now a “body of information” that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.

“This may well have been unintentional. We are working closely with Canada and our international partners and there now needs to be a full, transparent investigation.”

The US president, Donald Trump, said he had “suspicions” the plane had been accidentally shot down.

“Someone could have made a mistake on the other side,” he said. “Some people say it was mechanical, I personally don’t think that’s even a question. I have a feeling that … something very terrible happened.”

Iran has fiercely rejected the uniform western intelligence assessments.

“Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumours are illogical,” Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Iran’s of Civil Aviation Organisation told state-run media.

Morrison confirmed earlier this week Australian troops would remain in Iraq. Operation Okra comprises a special operations task group, as well as task group Taji, which works to train Iraqi security forces.

Taji is based at the Taji military base, about 30km north of Baghdad. The base was not targeted this week, despite early reports it had been. The base did close operations during the week.

(continued)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/10/australia-backs-western-leaders-in-alleging-iran-accidentally-downed-ukraine-plane

American pastor says why ‘God’ set fire to Australia

An anti-gay pastor in the United States says God set Australia on fire because people like him were banned from preaching here.

As bushfires continue to devastate Australia’s southeast, a Christian hate preacher has claimed he knows why the nation has been set on fire.

Steven Anderson, known as America’s most anti-gay pastor, said the destructive bushfires currently ravaging Australia are the “judgment of God” for “banning and deporting preachers of the Gospel”.

In July last year, Australia joined 32 other countries around the world in banning Mr Anderson from entering its borders. The preacher has been banned in all 26 of Europe’s Schengen states, Botswana, Jamaica, Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Canada for his repeated hateful statements wishing death upon LGBTQ people.

Mr Anderson took to his church’s Facebook page, Faithful Word Baptist Church, to post images of the bushfires. The post reads: “Maybe if Australia weren’t banning and deporting preachers of the Gospel, they wouldn’t be under the judgement of God” above a link to a sermon titled “Natural Disasters as Judgement from God”.

Other Facebook users commented on the post, blasting Mr Anderson’s hateful message.

“During this extraordinary disaster, we have witnessed far more humanity and Christianity on the ground and in the communities, than has been displayed in this post,” one wrote.

“The people on the ground, helping each other in whatever way they can, are showing more faith in humanity, than the original post showed in its construction.”

Another wrote men like Mr Anderson “are doing more damage than anyone around the world”.

In the past, the leader of the Arizona church has praised the shooter who killed 49 people in 2016 at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando. Mr Anderson called the victims “a bunch of disgusting perverts and paedophiles” and “disgusting homosexuals who the Bible says were worthy of death”.

He has also encouraged his congregants to kill all homosexual people, saying it would be a “cure for AIDS”, and has advocated for world governments to execute gay people.

Mr Anderson was denied entry to Australia when trying to speak at the New Life Baptist Church with Pastor Kevin Sepulveda.

https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/american-pastor-says-why-god-set-fire-to-australia/news-story/387c9bdbb41cd34ad973c438558fbc84?fbclid=IwAR2_WxpvqrVX3sh9_majBO57p0bT_-giw0SeNlJeeHzB4GQY8Kyxh5KyGR8

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10157828687497964&id=183465927963

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3Xjx7qEsnI

APRA teams up with spy agencies

The prudential regulator has begun working closely with Australia and the world's top intelligence agencies on how to combat cyber attacks on our financial infrastructure after naming defending the banks one of its top four priorities for 2020.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman Wayne Byres said it was important the regulator worked hand-in-glove with the Australian Signals Directorate, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and their international peers in order to defeat the growing threat.

“Institutions get attacked all the time. Every day, every minute. The larger organisations are getting attacked continuously," he said.

“There is an active adversary that you are battling against and it’s very much international in nature and so our approach needs to be collaborative and working closely in partnership with other government agencies and international agencies.”

Deeper relationship

APRA is working closely with a division of the ASD known as the Australian Cyber Security Centre which includes ASIO, the Federal Police and Defence. The US Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency or CISA is an example of a comparable peer body.

The relationship between ACSC and APRA has deepened as it implements a set of new standards that came into effect six months ago and include mandatory breach reporting. APRA has indicated that it is keen to see regulated entities follow it to the letter as it works out the kinks.

“Thus far there hasn’t been an attack here that has created a material risk or severely threatened the viability of an organisation but this is an area that is rapidly evolving. We can’t be complacent,” Mr Byres said.

“Inevitably, there are breaches but thus far they haven’t been of a nature that has been particularly problematic or threatened the operation of institutions.”

After a busy year responding to the findings of the Hayne royal commission APRA’s decision to zero in on cyber risk places it on equal footing with financial system resilience, member outcomes in superannuation and the massive governance, culture, remuneration and accountability project.

Focus on cyber risk

APRA already works closely with members of the Financial Council of Regulators including the Reserve Bank to protect infrastructure vital to the Australian economy such as the payments system.

The focus on cyber risk sees the regulator which has typically been focused on the stability of the financial system square off against nimble cyber criminals, rogue states and common crooks who are all probing the defences of our banks in search of a quick pay-off or something even more sinister.

“Unlike traditional sorts of financial risk that APRA monitors such as credit risk, market risk and interest rate risk, in this case you have an active adversary trying to circumvent the controls so you have to be continually on your game,” Mr Byres said.

KPMG’s national lead partners for cyber practice Gordon Archibald said Australia lagged its peers by about three to four years. He said the regulatory approach was not as strict as in the US for instance where laws were tightened after a series of well publicised breaches including the hacking of 40 million credit card details from retailer Target.

“From a security point of view we have very robust controls but it’s also right to say there is more of a focus at the board and at the executive level in the UK and the US because of the bigger penalties,” Mr Archibald said.

(continued)

https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/apra-teams-up-with-spy-agencies-20200109-p53q13

Singapore student charged over child-like sex doll

Australian Border Force (ABF) Investigators have charged a 26 year old Singapore national over the importation of a child-like sex doll.

The man, who is in Australia on a Student Visa, was arrested yesterday (Thursday, 9 January 2020) following the execution of a search warrant on a residence in Perth.

The investigation commenced on 24 December 2019 after ABF officers intercepted a parcel sent from China at a Perth air cargo depot. The parcel was x-rayed and allegedly found to contain a silicone female child-like sex doll.

The man has been charged with the following:

• One count of Importing Tier 2 goods, in contravention of Section 233BAB(5) of the Customs Act 1901.

He was granted conditional bail and is due to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on Friday 17 January 2020.

The maximum penalty for the import of child abuse material is 10 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $525,000.

ABF Investigations Acting Commander Nicholas Walker, said ABF officers were seizing increasing numbers of child-like sex dolls being imported through the international mail and air cargo streams.

“Child-like sex dolls are an emerging form of child abuse material that the ABF is determined to prevent from crossing our border,” Acting Commander Walker said.

“Dolls that are manufactured for a sexual purpose that depict a child under the age of 18 are classified as ‘objectionable goods’ and are prohibited from being imported into Australia.

“Tackling child abuse material is an operational priority for the ABF as part of its role in protecting the border from individuals who may pose a threat to the community.”

In addition to the importation offences, the Government last year strengthened the Commonwealth offences for possessing and otherwise dealing with child-like sex dolls.

On 21 September 2019, the Combatting Child Sexual Exploitation Legislation Amendment Act 2019 came into force. These reforms amended the Criminal Code Act 1995 to:

• introduce a new offence for possessing a child-like sex doll, which is punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment; and

• amend the definition of ‘child abuse material’ to put beyond doubt that it is an offence to, for example, use the internet to advertise or solicit, or use a postal service to send, a child-like sex doll.

More information on what material can and can’t be brought into Australia can be found here - https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/can-you-bring-it-in/categories/misc

Please note: The legislative changes mentioned above have resulted in the term ‘Child Exploitation Material’ changing to ‘Child Abuse Material’.

https://newsroom.abf.gov.au/releases/singapore-student-charged-over-child-like-sex-doll

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange awarded Dignity Prize from Catalans

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is being kept in a prison cell for up to 23 hours a day, but that has not stopped him from winning an award for raising the plight of the Catalans.

Despite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange being kept in his prison cell for up to 23 hours a day in London’s high security Belmarsh jail, it has not stopped him winning a major award.

The Catalan Dignity Commission has honoured him with its 2019 Dignity Prize for raising awareness around the world about the plight of the Catalans in the lead up to the 2017 independence vote.

Announced on Friday, the prize recognises his efforts to correct misreporting of events and to provide live video updates to the world of the peaceful Catalan protesters and the brutal crackdown on them by Spanish police.

The advice Assange gave to Catalans on how to use apps to avoid Spanish Government shut downs was also acknowledged.

The prizes which began in 2002, reward, symbolically, the people and organisations who have worked towards protecting Civil Rights and heightening historical memory and democratic values in any area of public life.

Assange’s mother Christine said “This deeply meaningful Dignity Award from the Catalan Dignity Commission in gratitude for Julian’s courageous journalism, recognises the essence of his belief and practice, that a fierce free, truthful and independent media holding Governments and other powerful entities accountable to the people, is the most important protection we have to defend freedom and democracy.”

Assange, who was at the time under the protection of the Ecuadorean Government and living in the Embassy in London, responded to the despair of Catalans when the Spanish Government disabled voting apps, by tweeting instructions on how Catalan citizens could use other apps to find out information about voting. Millions of people were able to vote as a result.

He also tweeted information about the historical background to the struggle for independence by the Catalans, giving context to the referendum vote.

Ms Assange said people were glued to his twitter account watching the live updates.

Assange himself maintained he was not taking sides on whether Catalonia should secede or not, only that peaceful legal democratic processes should be respected.

He undertook to help the Catalans despite the risk it would create his own problems with the Ecuadorean Government.

As a result, Assange’s support for the democratic process led to a backlash from Spain sparking concerns within Ecuador’s government.

Soon after Assange’s internet connection was cut off and his access to visitors stopped.

Assange has a long a history of helping people get access to internet services. At age 23 he founded one of the first internet provider services in Australia, the non-profit Suburbia, run by volunteers to help underprivileged people get internet access.

Ms Assange said her son also spent a lot of time visiting community groups to show them how to use the internet.

“He has always cared about people having access to information, and believes in core values that underpin freedom and democracy”.

Assange helped the Catalans while he was still detained without charge inside the Ecuador Embassy, and prevented by a 24/7 police guard which blocked him from taking up his legal political asylum in Ecuador.

He was granted asylum in 2012, to protect his life and liberty from US threats.

Assange, an Australian citizen, is facing 175 years prison if extradited to the US and convicted on espionage charges.

The unprecedented prosecution relates to the publication of documents provided to WikiLeaks by whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

Assange attracted the attention of the United States when Wikileaks and several media outlets published hundreds of thousands of secret US documents and a video about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan which contained evidence of war crimes.

(continued)

https://www.news.com.au/national/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-awarded-dignity-prize-from-catalans/news-story/207b2f05fbff34175570411b349c9a93

>>7738394

President Donald Trump Tweet

We love Australia!

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1214513143021527046

Kangaroo Island Mayor says Barack Obama 'wrong' on climate change bushfire connection

As almost half of Australia's third largest island burned, its Mayor used social media to criticise former US president Barack Obama for connecting what he called "the very real and very urgent consequences of climate change" with Australia's bushfires.

Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly responded to a tweet by Barack Obama by saying climate change was not connected with the bushfire that has burnt almost half of the 4,400 square kilometre island.

"So, so foolish in your pronouncement. My respect for you has totally evaporated. Pathetic," Mr Pengilly said of the former president on Twitter.

Mr Obama had tweeted a New York magazine article criticising the lack of international media coverage of the blazes.

Twitter users called Mr Pengilly "puerile" and a "climate change denier".

"Should be thrown on the political rubbish heap," one user said.

"You are a fool to ignore science," another person wrote.

Others, though, supported him. Mark Bell said Mr Pengilly had "led from the front" in responding to the Kangaroo Island bushfires.

He said it was "very, very unlikely" Mr Pengilly would have trouble being re-elected.

"He is a man of the land, a CFS [fire] volunteer and has been doing an amazing job of leading the community," Mr Bell tweeted.

Mr Pengilly told ABC News that Mr Obama's tweet "wasn't helpful".

"I don't think he should have entered into it," he said.

"… I just think he's wrong."

He said climate change was "not connected" with the Kangaroo Island fires, since bushfires would have regularly ravaged the island even before European settlement.

"They would have just burned themselves out until they got rained on," he said.

Mayor told Parliament climate change was 'nonsense'

Mr Pengilly was a state Liberal MP from 2006 to 2018.

In 2011, he told Parliament climate change was "nonsense", adding he had "grave doubts about any climate change".

Last September, Mr Pengilly criticised students participating in a climate change protest.

"[The protest] won't gel with the vast majority of islanders and is a total green-left con job," Mr Pengilly told The Islander newspaper.

"I am disgusted with kids being used in such a manner."

He quit Parliament in 2018 and was elected Mayor of Kangaroo Island later that year.

He was chairman of the South Australian Country Fire Service board from 1995 to 2000.

Mayor 'wrong' to ignore evidence

Opposition environment spokeswoman Susan Close said Mr Pengilly was "wrong is to ignore scientific evidence and to dismiss it in a very brief tweet".

"The fact that he's using such trivialising language about an issue as comprehensively significant as climate change just demonstrates he should sit these debates out, concentrate on working with the community on the fires, and leave the people who understand the science to have proper discussions," Dr Close said.

"… The onus is on Michael Pengilly to explain why he thinks talking about climate change — when we're already at 1 degree Celsius of warming across the planet — is 'foolish' or 'pathetic'."

Federal Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie, whose electorate includes Kangaroo Island, said Mr Pengilly's comments were "a little disappointing".

"It's not surprising," she said.

Mr Pengilly dismissed the online criticism.

"They're trolls having a crack," he said.

"You're not allowed to have an opinion."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-10/kangaroo-island-mayor-rebukes-barack-obama-bushfire-tweet/11858654

https://twitter.com/PengillyMichael/status/1215452299880845317

Operation Bushfire Assist 2019-2020

At the request of the Government, in order to support national disaster relief efforts, the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), has issued a Call Out Order: Operation BUSHFIRE ASSIST 2019-2020.

The Call Out was issued by the Governor-General on advice of the Minister for Defence in accordance with the civil emergency and disaster relief circumstances set out in s.28 of the Defence Act 1903 (Cth). Operation BUSHFIRE ASSIST 2019-2020 is in effect from 04 January 2020 until revoked by the Governor-General. You can read a copy of the 'Order to Call Out the Australian Defence Force Reserves' here.

State and territory governments remain the primary responders for disasters within Australia – the Call Out of Reservists seeks to enhance the ADF capacity to respond to multiple or sequential large-scale events.

(continued)

https://www.defencereservessupport.gov.au/call-out-orders/operation-bushfire-assist-2019-2020/

https://www.legislation.gov.au/details/F2020N00001

Department of Defence - Operation Bushfire Assist 2019-2020

The bushfire crisis is the Australian Defence Force’s main effort, with several thousand full-time and reserve personnel providing direct support in the field, at sea, in the air and from Defence bases across fire-affected regions.

About 2000 reservists are attached to the three joint task forces deployed in support of Operation Bushfire Assist. This number is growing daily.

The call out of up to 3000 reserve personnel will occur over the course of the crisis. They will be deployed throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Tasmania, and Victoria. It is essential that the ADF response can be sustained for as long as Government directs.

Defence has appointed a Two-Star Emergency ADF National Support Coordinator, Major General Justin 'Jake' Ellwood, to work in support of state and territory authorities.

(continued)

https://news.defence.gov.au/national/operation-bushfire-assist-2019-2020

Defence Australia video

Watch a message from the ADF National Coordinator, Major General Jake Ellwood, DSC, AM, addressing the Commanders of personnel involved in #OpBushfireAssist.

https://www.facebook.com/defenceaustralia/videos/1067331116952847/

https://www.facebook.com/defenceaustralia/

George Pell reportedly moved after drone flown over jail

Disgraced Cardinal George Pell has reportedly been moved from his central Melbourne prison to a high-security facility in regional Victoria after a drone was flown over the jail.

"Corrections Victoria can confirm an incident involving a drone flying over the Melbourne Assessment Prison on Thursday," a Department of Justice spokeswoman said on Sunday.

The drone was reportedly flying near a visitors' garden at the prison, located in Melbourne's CBD.

Pell has been held at the prison for almost a year, after his 2018 conviction for sexually assaulting two teenage choirboys at Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral in the mid-1990s.

The high-profile prisoner, whose legal case garnered global attention, had been given a job weeding and watering a garden inside the prison.

It has been speculated that the drone may have been used to try and get pictures of Pell, which could be worth a significant sum.

He has reportedly been moved from Melbourne to the maximum security Barwon Prison near Geelong. The incident has been referred to Victoria Police.

It is illegal to fly a drone within 120 metres of a prison or youth justice facility, and doing so can result in up to two years in jail.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/george-pell-reportedly-moved-after-drone-flown-over-jail-20200112-p53qqh.html

Twitter Thread by Mark, @awakeinaus

1/

Thread: This is an email from Bruce Wolpe to John Podesta. The Julia mentioned is "Julia Gillard", former AUS PM. HRC is Hillary Clinton. Wolpe is former adviser to Obama and COS to Gillard. He is also of USSC. In this email Wolpe mentions climate denialism in AUS is over…

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/37417

2/

… Let's give this email some context. It's dated 13 Dec 2015. At that time Gillard wasn't PM. Malcolm Turnbull was. He became PM Sep 15, 2015, just 3 mnths before Wolpe sent this email to Podesta. The Abbott climate denialism was over because AUS had 'elected' a Globalist…

3/

…Prime Minister that was going to support the climate change scam for the Deep State globalists. Now read Q's post pictured below. Q drops Intel that CC is a scam. Use a topic with emotional pull. Media Blitz. Pro narrative authorities to gain support. Use public outcry…

https://8kun.top/projectdcomms/res/20.html#88

4/

…to justify billion dollar taxpayer spend. Rinse & repeat. Who audits where money goes? Now remember back to Wolpe's email to Podesta. Here it is again. Wolpe, Gillard, Turnbull, HRC, all in it together to push the scam…

5/

… Here are some of Wolpe's tweets about Climate Change, even after 180 people are under investigation for arson. This thread serves as a working example for how the elites are working hand in hand, just how Q says, to scam us. The more you know!

#TheGreatAwakening

#Qanon

https://twitter.com/search?q=bwolpe%20climate

https://twitter.com/awakeinaus/status/1215953828693938177

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1215953828693938177.html

Virginia Roberts Giuffre backs DHS campaign against human trafficking

Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre wore blue in an online video Sunday to “stand united” on national human-trafficking-awareness day.

Giuffre — who claims she had sex three times with Andrew, 59, while being trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein — wore a pale blue sweater as she publicly supported Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign that marked Jan. 11 as #WearBlueDay.

“My name is Virginia Roberts Giuffre. I stand united with the countless victims of human trafficking all over the world,” said Giuffre in the video Saturday, which the campaign recognizes as national human-trafficking-awareness day.

“Let’s put an end to it,” she said, adding hashtags including “#EpsteinCoverup,” “#TimesUp” and “#EnoughIsEnough.”

Giuffre has long been one of the most outspoken accusers against Epstein, and her claims about Andrew ultimately were crucial in him getting booted from royal duties last year. Andrew and Buckingham Palace have always denied her claims.

The Blue Campaign says it is a “national public-awareness campaign designed to educate the public, law enforcement and other industry partners to recognize the indicators of human trafficking, and how to appropriately respond to possible cases.”

https://nypost.com/2020/01/12/virginia-roberts-giuffre-backs-dhs-campaign-against-human-trafficking/

https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweets

#WearBlueDay #EnoughIsEnough #EpsteinCoverup #TimesUp @shaunattwood @DHSBlueCampaign @adamdavidson

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1216219245735886849

——–

Even in disparity Aussies always find a way to have a laugh. Can I get an Aussie Aussie Aussie- Oi Oi Oi 🇦🇺🥰🌟🦋

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1216146530127581186

Don't hide hacks: cyber security boss

Federal government cyber security officials are trying to help business fend off an unprecedented level of digital attacks against banks, energy grids and other critical infrastructure, and imploring private firms not to cover up hacks.

Amid warnings that wars of the 21st century will be fought in cyberspace against foreign countries and criminals, the government is developing new proposed powers so security agencies can better defend critical private-sector infrastructure from cyber attacks by Chinese and other hackers.

The departing head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Rachel Noble, told The Australian Financial Review that the government wanted to work closely with business to protect assets crucial to the economy and community.

“When the bad day comes we will be working in partnership [with private companies]," she said.

“As we have seen more recently, those who plan for it, and get on the front foot and explain what they are doing about it, and don’t try to downplay it, reputationally they do better in the wash-up than those who try to hide it when it happens.”

Ms Noble is in coming weeks set to become the new director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate, the first woman to lead a major intelligence organisation.

Cyber incidents can take years to detect and the prudential regulator recently warned, "it’s entirely possible that one of the banks, insurers or super funds has been compromised and we simply don’t know about it".

National Australia Bank told a parliamentary hearing it was spending up to $150 million annually on cyber security to stop intrusions from fraudsters, prevent the spread of viruses and protect sensitive customer data.

“We are active daily in identifying potential threats and shutting them down and we work closely with all the authorities,” NAB chairman Philip Chronican said in November.

“Every day there are attempts to attack our environment and every day we are beating them back.”

…..

APRA executive Geoff Summerhayes warned in a recent speech financial companies may not be adequately prepared to respond as the "fog of war" descends during a real-world cyber attack.

"The level of threat it poses, and the extent to which business has become exposed to that threat, has drastically escalated over recent years," he said in a speech in November.

"To date, no APRA-regulated entity has experienced a breach material enough to threaten its viability, but I can assure you it’s not for want of trying.

"We’ve warned repeatedly that it’s only a matter of time until an Australian bank, insurer or superannuation licensee suffers a significant breach that, in a worst-case scenario, could force it out of business."

Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs Mike Pezzullo in October pointed to risks posed by “certain state actors” and “very capable non-state actors”, saying the government’s highly classified cyber tools can “see through a particular lens what's happening on our networks”.

He said in the not-too-distant future a capable non-state "Bond villain" may be able to "short a market to change market signals and take advantage of that from a profit point of view".

“Hopefully, we can close this gap in sufficient time before that day, the equivalent of a cyber Pearl Harbour, comes," he told a Senate hearing.

The government is developing new legal powers to allow it to intervene more easily to defend critical private-sector infrastructure, such as the financial payments systems, the electricity grid, gas and water supplies, sensitive data holdings, traffic management systems and ports.

Under the current law, the government’s cyber agencies can usually only intervene on cyber security incidents with the permission of private network owners.

The Council of Financial Regulators met representatives of the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Cyber Security Centre on November 29 to review the cyber security environment.

"They also discussed key initiatives to improve cyber resilience, including the development of the government's 2020 Cyber Security Strategy, and application to the financial sector," the CFR said in a statement.

(continued)

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/don-t-hide-hacks-cyber-security-boss-20200108-p53pv4

WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange in UK court fighting extradition to USA

The legal team for jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has complained in a UK court that prison authorities are hindering the Australian’s battle against extradition to the US.

Assange, 48, made a brief court appearance as he and his legal team continue to fight moves to get him to America to face serious espionage charges.

He and his lawyers complained they weren’t being given enough time to meet to plan their battle against US prosecutors seeking to put him on trial for WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of confidential documents.

“It is a breach of a defendant’s rights,” his lawyer Gareth Peirce complained.

Assange was taken to court from Belmarsh Prison on the outskirts of London.

He saluted the public gallery, which was packed with ardent supporters including the musician MIA, when he entered the courtroom.

He later raised his right fist in defiance when he was taken to holding cells to meet with lawyer Gareth Peirce.

A court artist’s sketch showed Assange wearing spectacles, with longish hair and a beard.

Mr Peirce said officials at Belmarsh Prison are making it extremely difficult for her to meet with Assange.

“We have pushed Belmarsh in every way - it is a breach of a defendant’s rights,” he said.

Assange refrained from making political statements.

He confirmed his name and date of birth, and at one point said he didn’t understand all of the proceedings against him during the brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

He faces 18 charges in the US, including conspiring to hack into a Pentagon computer. He has denied wrongdoing, claiming he was acting as a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection.

Many advocacy groups have supported Assange’s claim that the charges would have a chilling effect on freedom of the press.

He confirmed his name and date of birth, and at one point said he didn’t understand all of the proceedings against him during the brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

He faces 18 charges in the US, including conspiring to hack into a Pentagon computer. He has denied wrongdoing, claiming he was acting as a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection.

Many advocacy groups have supported Assange’s claim that the charges would have a chilling effect on freedom of the press.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/wikileaks-julian-assange-in-uk-court-fighting-extradition-to-usa/news-story/5610a991a3d04b4e27f41c49186d34f1

Assange ‘denied access’ to lawyers in UK

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been denied access to evidence and even basic items like paper and pens by British prison officials, putting his US extradition case on the brink of judicial review, his lawyer has warned.

Solicitor Gareth Pierce was shocked to learn that District Judge Vanessa Baraitser only intended to allow the defence team one hour to review evidence with the Australian in the holding cells at the Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday.

He's been charged in the US with 17 counts of spying and one count of computer hacking in relation to WikiLeaks' release of thousands of classified Pentagon files regarding the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, most of which were allegedly provided by former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

Some of those files have revealed US war crimes committed in both countries.

Assange's supporters in the public gallery, including British rapper M.I.A., silently waved and raised fists to him and he smiled and nodded before giving them a two-fingered salute.

Ms Pierce, who had expected to have a full day with Assange, explained that her team had previously been allowed just two hours to review evidence with him in prison.

"It set us back in our timetable enormously," she told the court.

"We will do our best but this slippage in the timetable is extremely worrying."

Ms Pierce described how the administration of Belmarsh prison, where he's being held, had obstructed access to her client to the point where she had even had to approach US government lawyers to assist.

She warned that further denying Assange his "human right" to legal access was putting his case on the brink of a judicial review.

Judge Baraitser adjourned the case until later on Monday afternoon to allow the defence team to review case evidence with Assange.

In that second sitting, Ms Peirce said that she had only had an hour to speak to Assange.

Wikileaks ambassador Joseph Farrell called Assange's severely limited access legal representation to date as outrageous.

"Given the way Belmarsh is dealing with this, it's on the brink of judicial review," he told AAP.

"To have three hours with your lawyers when you're facing 175 years in prison (in the US) is not acceptable."

Academy and Grammy award-nominated hip-hop artist M.I.A., who visited Assange in prison last year, said authorities had even denied him simple things like a pen and paper.

She said some books were denied as well due to concerns he could use them to secretly communicate with outsiders.

"It blows my mind that England can have this going, and with the support of Australia," M.I.A. told AAP.

Mr Farrell said given the amount of stumbling blocks presented to Assange it raised the question of whether the "biggest media freedom case this century" was actually a fair trial.

"More importantly than all that, the fact that this is a trial at all is outrageous," he told AAP.

"This is somebody who is in prison for exposing war crimes, for doing his job. He's in prison for the very same reason as he was given a Walkley Award. This is not something that should be allowed to happen."

Assange's next hearing is scheduled for January 23. He is due to appear via video link from Belmarsh prison.

Full extradition proceedings are expected to commence in February.

https://www.sheppnews.com.au/world/2020/01/13/985815/assange-denied-access-to-lawyers-in-uk

WATCH: Assange caught on camera leaving UK court in prison van after US extradition hearing

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been filmed leaving Westminster Magistrates’ Court in a police van after a brief preliminary hearing on Monday, part of his bid to prevent his extradition to the US to face espionage charges.

The 48-year-old Australian – who has been charged by the US with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, working with former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to break into Department of Defense systems and gain access to US state secrets – left court after a 12-minute hearing in London.

He was caught on camera as he was taken away in a police van, looking pale-faced and wearing glasses. The footage contains the voice of a supporter giving the journalist encouragement, to which he acknowledges with a series of nods.

The journalist was backed by dozens of supporters during the court proceedings, including British musician MIA. He spoke only to confirm his name, his date of birth, and to briefly state he did not understand an element of court business.

Initially locked up for the minor offense of skipping bail, Assange is being detained in the notorious maximum-security jail Belmarsh. It’s a Category A prison – the highest level in the UK penal system – intended for “highly dangerous” convicts and those likely to attempt escape, typically befitting murderers and terrorists.

The WikiLeaks founder’s full extradition hearing will be heard at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court on February 24 and is expected to last for up to four weeks. He will next appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on January 23 via video link from HMP Belmarsh.

https://www.rt.com/uk/478146-assange-camera-court-extradition/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stLalBA-yZo

State prosecutors demand court set date for Leifer extradition hearing

Request comes following expert psychiatric assessment that the alleged pedophile is mentally fit for trial and was feigning mental illness.

The senior prosecutor from the State Attorney’s Office handling the extradition request against alleged pedophile Malka Leifer has requested that the judge hearing the case schedule an immediate date for Australia’s request to be heard.

Yuval Kaplinsky, director of the State Attorney’s Office International Department, asked Judge Chana Miriam Lomp of the Jerusalem District Court not to allow cross-examination of the experts on the psychiatric panel, which has declared Leifer fit to stand trial.

Last week, the panel of psychiatric experts that assessed Leifer’s mental status determined that she was mentally fit for extradition and that she had been feigning mental illness to avoid extradition to Australia, where she faces 75 counts of sexual assault and rape against minors.

Although Leifer was arrested in 2014, she has claimed to be mentally unfit for trial ever since then. Extradition proceedings have either been frozen or delayed by continuing legal concerns.

On Monday, Kaplinsky submitted a request asking Lomp to immediately adopt the psychiatric assessment and to schedule hearings and a date for a final decision on the extradition request.

“In light of the opinion submitted by the panel of [psychiatric] experts, it is clear [that] the honorable court, the extradition process and the mental health services have been a victim for five years of fraud and deception by the defendant and her associates,” Kaplinsky wrote.

The decision in 2016 to freeze the extradition process because of Leifer’s supposed mental incapacity, as well as the subsequent delays after evidence that she was feigning mental illness came to light, had “significantly impaired Israel’s ability so far to meet its international commitment to Australia,” he said.

Now is the right time to remove other legal obstacles and move forward quickly with the extradition process and “avoid in every way a situation in which the defendant continues to delay the process and fraudulently disrupt it,” Kaplinsky said.

“There is no reason or need to cross-examine the panel members,” he wrote, adding that “the transcripts of the defendant’s examination by the expert panel are sufficient to clarify that this is a defendant who is familiar with the reality of her surroundings and is therefore eligible to stand trial.”

The severe delays in the extradition proceedings were a violation of Israel’s extradition treaty with Australia and had caused substantial damage to Israel’s diplomatic relations with the country, Kaplinsky said.

Although the assessment by the psychiatric panel was unambiguous and unanimous in its findings – that Leifer is not mentally ill and has been lying about her mental incapacity – Lomp likely will allow the experts to be cross-examined in court by Leifer’s defense lawyers.

If allowed, this could take several hearings and several months to complete.

The State Attorney’s Office appears anxious to avoid further delays in a case that is now in its sixth year and has caused considerable damage to the image of Israel’s criminal justice system.

Leifer’s defense lawyers claimed in response that her human rights are being damaged for diplomatic considerations.

“In our opinion, there could be no more serious damage to Israel’s image than the foolish attempt to trample on the legal process by those seeking to hasten it for reasons not germane to the case,” they wrote.

They said would seek to cross-examine the experts of the psychiatric panel, adding that they were “certain that the court will give our client her day [in court] in a fair and appropriate process.”

There have been 62 hearings so far on Leifer’s case.

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/State-prosecutors-demand-court-set-date-for-Leifer-extradition-hearing-614012

Twitter Threads by Dassi Erlich, @dassi_erlich

The Prosecutor's Office have filed a motion with the District Court to set a date for the decision to extradite Malka Leifer to Australia following the psychiatric report.

#Courtdate63 tomorrow - 14 Jan at 13.30 in the Jerusalem district court before Judge Lomp. (10.30 pm AU)

The psychiatric report is to be presented to Judge Lomp tomorrow.

What can we expect next?

1. Both sides will be given the opportunity to cross examine the 3 psychiatrists - we expect this to take several court hearings.

1. Judge Lomp then makes her final decision on Leifer's fitness to stand trial.

(As this is an intermediary decision it cannot be appealed)

If Judge Lomp rules Leifer is fit to stand trial the court will then move to an extradition trial.

1. The extradition trial is not ezpected to take longer than 1 - 2 hearings.

1. The decision on whether to extradite Malka Leifer to Australia will most likely be appealed in the Supreme court.

1. If the Supreme court upholds an extradition order the justice minister will need to sign off this order - this process can also be appealed in the Supreme Court.

1. Should an extradition order be made and both appeals be upheld in the Supreme Court this is when we could see Australian police travel to Israel to pick Leifer up and escort her back to Australia!

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1216644756161228800

——–

The Israeli Ministry of Justice have issued a Press release regarding the State Attorney's request to expedite the extradition of Malka Leifer.

#bringleiferback

"The psychiatric panel's findings lead to the inevitable conclusion that over the past five years, the court and the mental health system have fallen victim to a fraud perpetrated by Leifer and her supporters"

Yes!

Leifer manipulted us & then she manipulated the system. #nomore

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1216656544160288775

Once a tourism boss, always a tourism boss! Scott Morrison intervenes after the US issues travel warning telling Americans to 'exercise increased caution' in Australia

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has praised the White House for revising a warning for travellers to Australia.

The United States is one of the top source countries for tourists to Australia, along with China and New Zealand.

But last week the State Department published a warning saying tourists should 'exercise increased caution' when flying down under.

The advice has now been changed to 'exercise normal precautions'.

Mr Morrison thanked US President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for their urgent intervention in the travel warning.

'That's one that particularly needed my intervention and I was very happy to do that,' Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.

Mr Morrison said whether Australia had the capacity to welcome tourists due to the bushfires had frequently come up in conversation with world leaders.

'There's a bit of a misconception overseas that the entire continent has been affected,' Mr Morrison said.

'You can still go swimming on the reef, and still be visiting Kakadu.'

He said Australian embassies and Tourism Australia were 'actively involved' in briefing foreign governments on travel advice for Australia.

The federal government will meet with Australian tourism operators on Friday to discuss what can be done to help them.

The Australian Tourism Industry Council welcomed the prime minister's intervention, saying it was necessary.

Executive director Simon Westaway said the perception abroad was most of the country was inaccessible or impacted by fires.

'Brand Australia has taken a hit,' Mr Westaway told AAP.

'It's just been very difficult to have a consistent narrative on us being open for business.'

Mr Westaway said Friday's meeting should not only review the direct impact of the fires on tourism, but also secondary impacts, like regions that rely on travellers passing through for cash flow.

'We need to look at all the different levers to get stimulus going,' he said.

The NSW government announced the main road from Canberra to the NSW south coast will reopen on Tuesday, encouraging tourists to visit the area.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7884605/Scott-Morrison-personally-intervenes-travel-warning.html

Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman resigns in shock announcement

The Tasmanian premier, Will Hodgman, has announced he will resign from politics to spend more time with his family, in a shock announcement on Tuesday afternoon.

Hodgman, who has been premier since 2014, said he believed now was the “right time to allow for new leadership”.

“I have this morning informed my cabinet colleagues and the prime minister of what is a very difficult decisions,” he told media on Tuesday.

“I have been premier for just on six years and leader of the Liberal party for 14. I have given this job, which is an enormous honour and privilege, absolutely everything, and it is a job I have loved.

“It is undeniable that it had impact on my family and I want to thank them for their amazing support for the 17 and a half years that I have been a member of parliament –our children’s whole lives.

“As we approach the halfway mark, with two more years of government, I believe that now is the right time for me to allow for new leadership.”

Hodgman had previously told media in December he had no plans to step down, but he revealed on Tuesday he changed his mind after discussing it with family over Christmas. “I didn’t finally arrive to it until the last day or so,” he said.

“I’ve taken time to reflect with my family over the Christmas period [and realised] it was unlikely, indeed would not be the case, that I would want to contest the next election.

“This gives new leadership an opportunity, at this point in time with the foundations well set.”

He said his replacement as premier would be a matter for the state parliamentary Liberal party, which would meet next week to determine the new party leader.

Hodgman was first elected as a state MP for the seat of Franklin, in the state’s south, in 2002, and was elected leader of the Tasmanian Liberal party in 2006.

At the 2018 state election, his government was returned with a majority of 13 seats out of 25 in the lower house, making him the second Liberal premier to win consecutive elections in the state’s history.

“I leave this job with Tasmania in a better place than when we started,” he said on Tuesday.

The outgoing premier listed his achievements in education, renewable energy and the establishment of the state’s first minister for the prevention of family and sexual violence.

“As we face the reality of climate change, we are delivering a Tasmanian climate action plan,” he said. “We are on track to 100% self-sufficient in renewable energy generation by 2022 [and] Tasmania is ready to play its part in Australia’s response to climate change by becoming the renewable energy powerhouse of the nation.”

He said school retention rates had increased by 10% since 2014 and his government had boosted access for disadvantaged communities and students with disabilities.

“I have given this job everything but I do believe it is the right time for someone else to do it,” Hodgman said.

“Our children have grown up with me in the public spotlight and it often hasn’t been easy. There is no denying that this job has an impact on your personal life and your family.”

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/14/tasmanian-premier-will-hodgman-resigns

Man, 29, arrested as Britain’s worst paedophile Richard Huckle stabbed to death in cell

A MAN has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing one of the UK’s worst paedophiles to death in prison.

A 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after Richard Huckle died at HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire on October 13 last year. Huckle was fatally stabbed in his cell with a makeshift blade. Today, Humberside Police said officers had arrested a man and had passed a file to prosecutors for consideration.

In a short statement they said: “A 29-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the death of a man at HMP Full Sutton on October 13 2019.

“A file has been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and we are awaiting their decision regarding charges.”

Huckle was given 22 life sentences at the Old Bailey in 2016 for an unprecedented number of offences against children aged between six months and 12 years.

He was ordered to serve a minimum of 25 years.

The freelance photographer, from Ashford in Kent, awarded himself “Pedopoints” for different acts of abuse against 191 youngsters.

He also sold images of his depravity on the dark web.

In online posts, Huckle bragged it was easier to target impoverished children in Malaysia than those from wealthy Western backgrounds.

He was arrested when he was stopped at Gatwick Airport en route to spend Christmas with his family in 2014.

This came after Australian authorities tipped off the UK’s National Crime Agency.

At the time of his arrest, he was writing a guide to teach fellow paedophiles how to abuse children and avoid detection.

He was even crowd-founding the manual’s release when arrested by the NCA.

Officers seized his encrypted laptop and managed to uncover more than 20,000 indecent pictures and videos although there were other files they were unable to crack.

Huckle used his English teaching to get access to children in poverty stricken Malaysia where he raped babies and children.

Masquerading as a devout Christian, he abused his role as a teacher to prey on vulnerable children in Kuala Lumpar over a nine year period.

Huckle gained access to care homes, orphanages and other impoverished communities - assaulting the children he was supposed to be caring for.

At the end of his trial in 2016 Judge Peter Rook said Huckle’s sentence reflected the “public abhorrence” over his “campaign of rape”.

He said: “It is very rare indeed that a judge has to sentence sexual offending by one person on such a scale as this.”

James Traynor, from the NCA’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) command, said: “Richard Huckle spent several years integrating himself into the community in which he lived, making himself a trusted figure. But he abused that trust in the worst possible way.

“He deliberately travelled to a part of the world where he thought he could abuse vulnerable children without being caught.

“The NCA worked to track down Huckle and end his prolific abuse, using Section 72 legislation in this case, which allows UK nationals to be prosecuted in the UK for offences that have been committed overseas.

“Borders are no barrier - we are determined that those who go abroad to abuse children will be held to account.”

The suspect arrested has not been named by officers.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1227918/richard-huckle-murder-worst-paedophile-britain-humberside-police-arrest

Pauline Hanson angrily rejects climate-bushfires link on Today

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has angrily rejected suggestions that climate change has contributed to the scale of Australia’s unprecedented bushfire season.

In an almost five-minute diatribe on Channel Nine’s Today show on Monday, Ms Hanson said a build-up of fuel on the forest floor due to a lack of hazard reduction burns was to blame for the blazes that have devastated millions of hectares in southern Australia.

“It is a build-up of the fuel over a period of time – 30-plus years that it has come to this stage now,” she said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday announced the government would convene a royal commission into Australia’s devastating bushfires, which would look at the impact of climate change, the operational response at a state and local level and the role of the federal government.

Ms Hanson said the effects of climate change should play no part in the government’s proposed royal commission into the bushfire crisis.

“If you are going to have a royal commission into [bushfires], throw bloody climate change out of the window and let’s look at the pure facts of why we have had the bushfires,” the Queensland Senator said.

“How they were handled, what we can do better to stop it happening again – lowering the emissions as they are dead-set on doing,” she added.

“As far as predicting the climate change … they can’t even get my weather right and tell me if it’s going to rain,” Ms Hanson said in an apparent reference to meteorologists, or perhaps climate scientists.

“They can’t get it right over the next seven to 10 days and they’re trying to tell me what it is going to be like in the next hundred years,” she said.

“If you’re going to have a royal commission, then open it up. Let’s have the true facts,” Ms Hanson said.

She suggested people who were concerned about climate change should “take all the aeroplanes out of the sky” and stop driving cars.

Ms Hanson’s outburst comes the same day economist Ross Garnaut proposed Australia aim for a target of zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible or risk bushfire conditions deteriorating significantly.

Almost 12 years after he undertook a review for the then-Labor government that concluded climate change would make bushfires worse in Australia by 2020, Professor Garnaut told ABC radio our worsening bushfire conditions would continue until the world has zero net emissions.

“It’s really important that Australia be part of the international community that’s seeking more ambitious outcomes, rather than a drag on the global effort,” he said.

“We’ve been a drag in recent years.”

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/01/13/pauline-hanson-today-bushfires/

>>7808293

>>7808319

Malka Leifer, former Melbourne principal and accused child abuser, granted further delays in extradition process

The alleged victims of an Israeli teacher accused of sexually abusing girls at a Melbourne school said they were distressed and angry about further delays to her extradition case.

The Jerusalem District Court has granted lawyers for the former principal of the Adass Israel girls school, Malka Leifer, time to cross-examine members of a psychiatric panel that found the 54-year-old had been faking mental illness to avoid extradition.

The panel is meant to be the final assessment of Ms Leifer's mental fitness after more than 30 previous examinations, many of which found her mentally competent to face trial.

Israel's State Attorney's Office had seized on its findings to press for a speedier resolution to the extradition hearing, so Ms Leifer could be sent to Australia to face 74 sexual abuse charges.

"The psychiatric panel's findings lead to the inevitable conclusion that over the past five years, the court and the mental health system have fallen victim to a fraud perpetrated by Leifer and her supporters," it said in a press release before the court hearing.

But rather than proceeding to the extradition hearing, legal argument about Ms Leifer's mental competency will continue until at least mid-March.

"It is so, so upsetting to have a judge who does not just stand up and say, 'I asked for a panel, I received an answer, this is what is going to happen next, thank you very much'," alleged victim Nicole Meyer said.

"Instead we have to sit through another traumatising and draining court hearing."

The Melbourne woman claims she and two of her sisters, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper, were sexually abused by their high school principal, Ms Leifer.

"I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight, I'm just too upset and exhausted," Ms Meyer said.

There will be at least two more days of cross-examination before the court rules on Ms Leifer's mental fitness and potentially proceeds to an extradition hearing.

"We had requested that the court expedite these proceedings against Malka Leifer and the court was open to that," lawyer Avital Ribner Oron, from Israel's State Attorney's Office, told the ABC.

"We are optimistic that we will have a decision regarding this issue very soon."

Extradition proceedings against Ms Leifer began in 2014 but were suspended two years later when her lawyers successfully argued she was too mentally ill to face trial.

But she was taken into custody in February 2018 when a hidden camera investigation by sexual abuse watchdog Jewish Community Watch, subsequently corroborated by Israeli Police, revealed her living a normal life of shopping, socialising and commuting, in contrast to her lawyers' claims she was catatonic and crippled by mental illness.

There's also questions about the psychiatric assessments which found Ms Leifer was unfit to face trial.

Israel Police have recommended the country's Deputy Health Minister, Yaakov Litzman, who is from the same Jewish ultra-orthodox sect as Ms Leifer, be indicted for pressuring state psychiatrists to change their assessments of her mental state to prevent her extradition.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-15/further-delays-extradition-accused-child-abuser-malka-leifer/11868406

——–

Dassi Erlich Tweet

Update on #courtdate63

Exhausted! Over an hour long repetitive hearing of defence screaming & attempting to delay the process again…

Court proposes to cross-examine panelists late Feb, but dates will not be confirmed until Judge speaks with the panelists.

Onto #64 #65 #67..

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1217066700387995650

'It would be an issue': Malcolm Turnbull intervenes in UK's Huawei debate

London: Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has warned Boris Johnson that allowing Chinese company Huawei to build Britain's 5G network would compromise the ability of the Five Eyes countries to collect and share intelligence.

Mr Turnbull responded to the UK Prime Minister's challenge issued earlier that critics of Huawei should offer alternatives. Johnson's National Security Council (NSC) is due to make a decision within a fortnight, nearly 12 months after the original determination was due.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's The World at One program, Mr Turnbull said the main risk the Australian security agencies had identified was not through potential Chinese interception of intelligence but by denial of access to the network.

Australian Labor and Liberal governments have blocked Huawei from the national broadband and 5G networks, while the US and New Zealand have implemented bans.

"We did a lot of work [to see] how we could mitigate the risk and the conclusion we came to was that there just wasn't a satisfactory mitigation of the risk," he said.

This week the outgoing head of MI5 Andrew Parker shrugged off US threats that Five Eyes intelligence could be cut if the British went ahead with the Chinese vendor.

But Mr Turnbull said it would be an issue.

"I think the fact that the other Eyes - the other parties to that Five Eyes relationship - are taking a different approach indicates it would become an issue," he said.

"How serious an issue it became only time would tell, but I have to say that prudence would suggest that the better course of action is not to use high-risk vendors and 5G, there are alternatives, European alternatives."

Earlier Johnson appeared unmoved by a US delegation of security officials which flew to Britain for last-minute lobbying, a retreat from his position after the NATO summit and his one-on-one meeting with US President Donald Trump.

"The British public deserve to have access to the best possible technology," Johnson said when asked about Huawei in a BBC TV interview on Tuesday. "We want to put in gigabit broadband for everybody. If people oppose one brand or another, then they have to tell us what's the alternative."

Turnbull said the British could use two "very large vendors" in Erickson and Nokia, "so there are plenty of alternatives".

While Johnson said that as Prime Minister he did not want "to put in any infrastructure that is going to prejudice our national security or our ability to cooperate with Five Eyes intelligence partners", his comments suggest his NSC may come to the same conclusion as that of his predecessor Theresa May and allow some Huawei involvement.

Huawei welcomed Johnson's comments and reiterated its stance that it would not comply with Chinese law if ever ordered to conduct espionage by Beijing.

Mr Johnson's former Cabinet colleague Liam Fox, who was the former Trade Secretary and part of Theresa May's NSC, said Chinese law that can require Chinese companies to spy on Beijing's behalf posed a "particular problem" for Britain.

"I think that that provides all Western countries with pause for thought if you're dealing with a company that can be ordered by its government to carry out espionage on their behalf effectively, where does that leave you in terms of dealing with them?"Fox told the Institute for Government in London.

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/europe/it-would-be-an-issue-malcolm-turnbull-intervenes-in-uk-s-huawei-debate-20200114-p53ric.html

Joe Hockey’s farewell draws elite of US industry and politics

Joe Hockey is not leaving Washington quietly.

A stunning who’s who of American political and business leaders will pay tribute to Australia’s outgoing ambassador at a gala farewell party on Saturday.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have accepted invitations to join some 400 American and Australian powerbrokers who plan to attend the big Washington bash.

Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, is among those who will speak and a long list of Trump cabinet ministers and advisers from Steven Mnuchin to Stephen Miller are also expected to attend as well as leading American CEOs.

On the Australian side, former prime minister Tony Abbott and golfer Greg Norman will speak, while other attendees will include billionaire businessman Anthony Pratt and News Corp co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch and his wife Sarah.

Donald Trump was also invited but couldn’t attend so instead he has invited Mr Hockey, a semi-regular golf partner of the President, into the Oval Office for a personal farewell on Wednesday (AEDT).

The attendance of so many powerbrokers reflects the close ties that Mr Hockey has forged, especially with the Trump White House, but also more broadly in the US during his four-year term as ambassador.

Mr Hockey’s stint in the country’s most important diplomatic post has been widely praised for helping Australia maintain a close relationship with Mr Trump and his key advisers — something that many other US allies have failed to do.

Under Mr Hockey’s watch the US-Australia alliance survived several potential storms including the angry phone call between Mr Trump and then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull over the refugee deal in early 2017.

In 2018, Australia was one of the only countries exempted from Mr Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs while Mr Hockey also played an important role last year in defusing potential diplomatic tensions over Alexander Downer’s role in triggering the FBI’s Russia investigation.

Asked what his proudest achievement was in Washington, Mr Hockey said “navigating this uncertain world with twists and turns everywhere”.

“The greatest legacy I can leave is the thought that you can’t take the US alliance for granted,” he told The Australian.

“You just need to keep working really hard at it more than ever.”

Mr Hockey says that in an era where the US is more transactional with its alliances, Australia needs to keep closely and constantly engaged to ensure it protects its own interests.

“In this world there is no regard for traditional allies, there is no regard for traditional partnerships, there is no regard for any great historical alliance,” he says. “Decision-making comes down to country-specific relationships in a way we’ve never seen before and that means you can be defined as a close ally but then end up on the wrong end of a trade announcement or something else and it is the relationships that hold it together.”

Mr Hockey has got to know Mr Trump better than most ambassadors in Washington, having played golf with him and having also developed a close relationship with the President’s acting chief of staff, Mr Mulvaney.

Last year, Mr Trump granted Scott Morrison the first state dinner for an Australian leader since John Howard’s in 2006.

So after four years, what are Mr Hockey’s observations about this mercurial and unconventional President?

“He is an engaging and curious person,” he says. “You never think of it when you see him on television or social media but he actually asks a lot of questions. He is curious and he is incredibly street smart. He is canny and he is intelligent.

“I think he likes provoking people and he is ‘America first’, which rubs a lot of countries up the wrong way. But we would expect our Prime Minister to be ‘Australia first’ so you can’t deny America’s right after all these years to put their country first,” he says.

Mr Hockey’s term finishes at the end of next week and he will be replaced by former senator Arthur Sinodinos. But Mr Hockey will remain in Washington for much of this year, doing part-time lecturing on public policy at the American University while he works out his next move, which is likely to be a corporate role in the US.

Mr Hockey has said that despite serving 20 years in federal parliament, including four jobs as a minister and now a four-year term as ambassador in Washington, he wants to keep working.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/joe-hockeys-farewell-draws-elite-of-us-industry-and-politics/news-story/af6c226d085eb4f74a355be150279488

https://twitter.com/7NewsSydney/status/1216275526530191360

White House is Democrats' to lose, says anti-Trump Republican

Only a landslide loss to the Democrats will force the Republicans to reconsider the leadership of Donald Trump, says former senator Jeff Flake.

Washington | Saving the Republican Party from its Trumpian conversion requires a landslide Democrat victory in the November elections, said one of Donald Trump's staunchest conservative critics.

Only such a monumental loss will drive home how the Grand Old Party has lost its way, says former senator Jeff Flake.

The outspoken critic of Mr Trump also urged his party to hold the president to account in this month's likely impeachment trial, rather than conduct a whitewash that blindly acquits the president of any wrongdoing.

In an interview with The Australian Financial Review, Mr Flake also ventured that Australia's catastrophic bushfires were driving home the message to younger American voters that conservative parties weren't doing enough to tackle climate change.

His comments came ahead of a speaking tour of Perth and Sydney organised by the Perth USAsia Centre and the US Studies Centre.

…..

Mr Flake – a rare, outspoken Republican critic of Mr Trump who resigned as Arizona senator ahead of the 2018 midterm elections after a backlash from loyalists – expressed concern that too many Republicans senators were ready to blindly acquit Mr Trump of any wrongdoing.

"You cannot argue that the president hasn't done anything wrong," Mr Flake told the Financial Review.

At the same time, he worried that the use of impeachment to throw a president from office would create a precedent that would haunt the country for years to come.

"It shouldn't be seen as the new normal – I'm troubled by that, but we are where we are," he said.

…..

Mr Flake said that to beat Mr Trump, the Democrats must win over middle-American voters across battleground states, including Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania - all states that swung to the president in 2016.

While many moderately conservative Americans are desperate for an alternative to Mr Trump, they were not prepared to vote for a radical Democrat who could be portrayed as a threat to the economy.

"If you look at the midterms [in November 2018] it shows many don't want to support Republicans," Mr Flake said.

But Democrats could well end up with a candidate that will prompt swing voters to "hold their noses and vote for Trump".

If Democrats "pick a Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren they will lose", he said.

Noting the results of last year's British and Australian elections – in which Jeremy Corbyn and Bill Shorten were similarly portrayed by their political opponents as extremists – Mr Flake urged Democrats to choose a "candidate who can't be portrayed as a radical".

For Democrats, the November presidential election is theirs to lose, he suggested, not least because of the large numbers of independent voters across the nation.

"The landscape favours the Democrats even with the economy doing well," he said.

Mr Flake noted that he would like to see Mr Trump defeated heavily in November as it would force the Republican party to reconsider its direction. For now, however, he said it was "the President's party".

On Iran, Mr Flake suggested Australians should be worried about the killing of Qassem Soleimani and the risk it may spark a greater conflict.

While he said he didn't have access to US intelligence, and "nobody will mourn Soleimani's death", Mr Trump should be forced to give a more detailed account of his actions to Senate lawmakers.

Mr Flake said this was needed because the President had originally justified the Iranian military leader's killing ahead of an "imminent" attack against America.

Those remarks have been contracted in recent days by administration officials .

On the fires in Australia, Mr Flake said they were being noticed in the US and would have a longer-term impact on the climate change debate.

"It will continue to drive younger Americans away from the Republican Party," he said.

Bushfires have for weeks generated prominent coverage in US media, and, unusually for Australia, worked their way into the talking points of most Democrat presidential candidates.

(continued)

https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/white-house-is-democrat-s-to-lose-says-anti-trump-republican-20200114-p53rds

Bushfires, bots and the spread of disinformation

As online discussion of the bushfire crisis becomes caught up in more and more of these tangled webs, from conspiracy theories to Islamophobia, more and more disinformation gets woven into the feeds of real users. Before long, it reaches the point where someone who starts off looking for information on #AustraliaFires winds up 10 minutes later reading about a UN conspiracy to take over the world.

The findings of the QUT study have been somewhat misconstrued in some of the media reporting (by no fault of the researchers themselves). There are a few factors to keep in mind.

First, a certain amount of inauthentic activity will be present on any high-profile hashtag. Twitter is full of bot accounts which are programmed to identify popular hashtags and use them to sell products or build an audience, regardless of what those hashtags are. Using a small sample size as the QUT study did (315 accounts) makes it difficult to determine how representative that sample is of the level of inauthentic activity on the hashtag as a whole.

Second, the QUT study relied on a tool called Bot or Not. This tool and others like it—which, as the name suggests, seek to automatically determine whether an account is a bot or not—are useful, but it’s important to understand the trade-offs they make when you’re interpreting the results. For example, one factor which many bot-detection tools look at is the age of the accounts, based on the assumption that newer accounts are more likely to be bots. That may in general be a reasonable assumption, but it doesn’t necessarily apply well in a case like the Australian bushfire crisis.

Many legitimate users may have recently joined Twitter specifically to get information about the fires. On the flipside, many bot accounts are bought and sold and repurposed, sometimes over several years (just search ‘buy aged Twitter accounts’ on Twitter for yourself to see how many are out there). Both of these things will affect the accuracy of a tool like Bot or Not. It’s not that we shouldn’t use tools which claim to detect bots automatically, but we do need to interpret their findings based on an informed appreciation of the factors which have gone into them.

Finally, there isn’t necessarily a link between bots and disinformation. Disinformation is often, and arguably most effectively, spread by real users from authentic accounts. Bots are sometimes used to share true, helpful information. During California’s wildfires in 2018, for example, researchers built a bot which would automatically generate and share satellite imagery time-lapses of fire locations to help affected communities.

There’s clearly a significant amount of disinformation and misleadingly framed discussion being spread on social media about the bushfires, particularly in relation to the role of arsonists in starting the fires.

However, the bulk of it doesn’t appear to be coming from bots, nor is it anything so straightforward as an attack. Instead, what appears to have happened is that Australia’s bushfire crisis—like other crises, including the burning of the Amazon rainforest in 2019—has been sucked into multiple overlapping fringe right-wing and conspiracy narratives which are generating and amplifying disinformation in support of their own political and ideological positions.

For example, fringe right-wing websites and media figures based in the United States are energetically driving a narrative that the bushfires are the result of arson (which has been resoundingly rejected by Australian authorities) based on an ideological opposition to the consensus view on climate change. Their articles are amplified by pre-existing networks of both real users and inauthentic accounts on social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook.

QAnon conspiracy theorists have integrated the bushfires into their broader conspiracy that US President Donald Trump is waging a secret battle against a powerful cabal of elite cannibalistic paedophiles. Believers in the ‘Agenda 21/Agenda 2030’ conspiracy theory see it as proof of ‘weaponised weather control’ aimed at consolidating a United Nations–led global takeover. Islamophobes are blaming Muslim arsonists—and getting thousands of likes.

And that’s not even touching the issue of misleading information that’s been spread by some Australian mainstream media.

(continued)

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/bushfires-bots-and-the-spread-of-disinformation/

Rockets reported fired at Taji military base in Iraq that hosts US-led coalition troops

Rockets have been fired in the direction of Camp Taji, a US-coalition base north of Baghdad in Iraq, local media report. At least one member of Iraqi security forces has reportedly been wounded.

A rocket has landed near the gates of the base, which houses soldiers from the US, UK, New Zealand, Australia, and other countries whose personnel remain in Iraq after Parliament ordered foreign soldiers to leave earlier this month. At least two rockets are believed to have hit near the base, which is 17km north of Baghdad.

The situation has become markedly more tense since the Trump administration’s assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, which provoked Iran to fire a barrage of missiles into the US' Ain al-Asad airbase and Erbil. The strikes resulted in zero casualties but gave evidence of precision strike capabilities and came with a warning that Tehran would strike Dubai or Haifa next should Washington attempt to retaliate.

US basis were targeted in small-scale rocket strikes over the last two months, with no group taking credit and in most cases no casualties. Eight rockets hit northern Iraq’s Balad Air Base on Sunday, wounding four Iraqi soldiers.

Middle East analyst Ammar Waqqaf suggested that the Popular Mobilization Forces, Iraqi Shiite militias allied with Iran, are unlikely to be behind the recent attacks because the weapons used have a “huge” margin of error and the bases targeted also house Iraqi soldiers. “Whoever targets this base does not necessarily care about the Iraqi army or personnel,” he told RT.

https://www.rt.com/news/478263-rocket-fired-taji-base/

—

Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds Tweet

I am aware of a rocket attack in the vicinity of the #Taji military base, Iraq. All Australian personnel have been accounted for & are safe. At the time of the attack there were no Australians in the immediate vicinity. The safety of our service men & women is our utmost priority

https://twitter.com/lindareynoldswa/status/1217251286652899328

>>7812340

Huawei hits back at Malcolm Turnbull’s ‘factually incorrect information’

A senior Australian Huawei representative has criticised former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull for using “factually incorrect information” to explain why the Chinese company should not deliver fifth-generation wireless technology to Britain.

Jeremy Mitchell, director of corporate affairs at Huawei Australia, said people deserved to be told “the truth on this matter” after an interview Mr Turnbull gave to the BBC on Tuesday, in which he said Huawei was beholden to Chinese authorities.

Australia followed the US in 2018 in banning Huawei Technologies and rival ZTE from the 5G mobile infrastructure rollout.

5G is billed as a nextgeneration wireless technology that will provide connectivity behind driverless cars, virtual reality and other technology. Telstra and Optus have already switched on their 5G networks in limited areas, with Vodafone’s expected to go live this year.

Mr Turnbull said if Huawei was commissioned to build Britain’s network, it could compromise the intelligence-sharing capabilities of Five Eyes countries the US, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Mr Turnbull was speaking in response to a challenge issued by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said that critics of Huawei, the world’s biggest supplier of telecoms equipment, should provide alternatives.

“Prudence would suggest that the better course of action is not to use high-risk vendors and 5G — there are alternatives, European alternatives,” Mr Turnbull said, naming Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson as potential suppliers. Both those firms manufacture products in China and are party to joint ventures with state-owned companies.

“The Five Eyes countries have been asleep at the switch in allowing China to own most of the companies that possess the capability to provide 5G networks,” Mr Turnbull said, adding that Huawei was unlikely to act with “malign intent” but was obligated under Chinese law to assist the country’s intelligence services.

The US has also previously warned that Huawei could be forced to spy on or disrupt networks on Beijing’s behalf.

The company has persistently denied sharing information with Chinese intelligence agencies and did so again in a statement after Mr Turnbull’s interview.

The EU released a report last year warning that hostile states and state-based actors posed a threat to 5G mobile networks.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/huawei-hits-back-at-malcolm-turnbulls-factually-incorrect-information/news-story/e5401cd866ac168ca6e1adbc43f67a80

Turnbull still getting it wrong on 5G ban

Jeremy Mitchell, Director of Corporate and Public Affairs at Huawei Australia

It is very disappointing that former Prime Minister Mr. Malcolm Turnbull still continues to rely on factually incorrect information when commenting on his government’s decision to exclude Huawei from delivering 5G in Australia – the Australian people deserve to be told the truth on this matter.

Following the 5G ban Mr Turnbull told Australians that the ban was imposed because 5G technology required a different network architecture to 4G networks but real world 5G deployments have now shown that to be completely false.

Indeed, two separate UK Parliamentary committees have found that the core and radio access networks can and will be split in 5G and this is now being done by operators all over the world – including right now in the UK.

Mr Turnbull is now claiming that his government had fears that Huawei would somehow shut down access to 5G networks on the orders of the Chinese government – this is absolutely absurd.

Huawei simply supplies technology to mobile network operators we have absolutely no control over those networks or access to them without the express permission of the operators – let alone have the ability to shut down access to them.

Mr Turnbull seems very concerned that the Chinese government will be able to control Huawei technology and yet seems completely ambivalent about the fact that both Nokia and Ericsson manufacture their 5G equipment in China in factories that are joint-owned with the Chinese.

During our engagement with the Turnbull government we made it absolutely clear we would take whatever measures were necessary to mitigate any perceived risks identified.

(continued)

https://huaweihub.com.au/turnbull-still-getting-it-wrong-on-5g-ban/

Malcolm Turnbull lashes out at former colleagues, Murdoch media over climate denial

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused a “toxic, climate-denying alliance of right-wing politics”, the Murdoch media and the coal industry of hijacking Australia’s climate debate.

In a damning essay written for US publication Time magazine, Mr Turnbull said that while climate change was a simple matter of physics, Australian politics had made it a matter of ideology.

“In Australia, as in the US, this issue [climate change] has been hijacked by a toxic, climate-denying alliance of right-wing politics and media (much of it owned by Rupert Murdoch), as well as vested business interests, especially in the coal industry,” he said.

Mr Turnbull accused the Murdoch-owned media of spreading false information by blaming Australia’s bushfire crisis on arson or hazard-reduction management.

“Murdoch’s News Corp. newspapers and television networks have been busy arguing that arsonists or a lack of controlled burning are the real causes of the fires,” he wrote.

“This has been refuted point-blank by the chief of the fire service in New South Wales, but the misinformation campaign continues in both mainstream and social media.”

Ideology and idiocy

Mr Turnbull said that as prime minister he tried to ensure Australia’s climate and energy policies were “governed by engineering and economics, not ideology and idiocy”.

“Tragically, the climate-denying political right in Australia has turned what should be a practical question of how to respond to a real physical threat into a matter of values or belief.”

Mr Turnbull was deposed as Liberal leader in a party room coup in August 2018, when he was replaced as prime minister by Scott Morrison.

Mr Turnbull said the efforts to take concerted action on climate change while prime minister resulted in him losing the leadership.

“In 2018, my government introduced a National Energy Guarantee (NEG), which combined emission reductions with reliability standards as a means of ensuring a smooth transition to a lower-emissions electricity sector while maintaining reliability of supply,” he said.

“It was supported by business and unions as well as state governments on both sides of politics. A majority of coalition legislators also backed it, but a right-wing minority, supported by their allies in the media, sabotaged the bill and then brought down my government.”

Mr Turnbull said one of Mr Morrison’s first acts was to formally abandon the NEG.

“Since then, the government has had no coherent, integrated climate and energy policy,” he said.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/01/16/malcolm-turnbull-time-climate/

Australia’s Bushfires Show the Wicked, Self-Destructive Idiocy of Climate Denialism Must Stop

By Malcolm Turnbull

Australia’s fires this summer—unprecedented in the scale of their destruction—are the ferocious but inevitable reality of global warming. A hotter, drier climate means more and longer droughts and more and fiercer fires.

So if Australia is on the front line of the climate crisis, why are we not also a world leader in climate action?

In most countries, asking people whether they believe in the science of climate change is like asking them whether they believe in gravity. It is a simple matter of physics. The more greenhouse gases are in the atmosphere, the hotter our climate will become.

But in Australia, as in the U.S., this issue has been hijacked by a toxic, climate-denying alliance of right-wing politics and media (much of it owned by Rupert Murdoch), as well as vested business interests, especially in the coal industry.

As Prime Minister, I tried to ensure that our climate and energy policies were governed by engineering and economics, not ideology and idiocy. Tragically, the climate-denying political right in Australia has turned what should be a practical question of how to respond to a real physical threat into a matter of values or belief.

Even as the fires rage, Murdoch’s News Corp. newspapers and television networks have been busy arguing that arsonists or a lack of controlled burning are the real causes of the fires. This has been refuted point-blank by the chief of the fire service in New South Wales, but the misinformation campaign continues in both mainstream and social media.

(continued)

https://time.com/5765603/australia-bushfires-prime-minister-essay/

Panel to call for more lay control in Australian church

A six-person committee charged with reviewing church governance and management is expected to present Australia’s bishops with a plan to overhaul the management of the church in the country.

The plan would cede control over financial, human resources and governance functions to professional laity, Jack de Groot, a member of the review committee, told Catholic News Service. The committee, established by the Australian Catholics Bishops’ Conference and Catholic Religious Australia in May 2018, expects to present the plan by late March.

It is the latest in a series of responses by the Australian church to the country’s Royal Commission Into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse, which uncovered and documented the tragic history of abuses in religious and secular organizations, including Catholic-run schools and orphanages across the country.

The commission found the Catholic Church, the denomination in Australia with the most followers, to be the worst offender and, since then, hundreds of millions of dollars have been paid in compensation to victims. Dozens of offenders, including many clerics, have been imprisoned.

In June 2018, the government established a National Redress Scheme to provide support and compensation to survivors, although many have still chosen to pursue perpetrators through the courts. Catholic bishops and religious have been working to act on the series of recommendations handed down by the commissioners in August 2017.

“The past year has seen steady and significant progress made across a range of areas, including in education, in governance reform and in responding to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse,” Archbishop Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian bishops’ conference, said in a progress report in mid-December. “Clearly, any institution that engages with young people must always be vigilant, working to ensure that strong and effective protocols and procedures are in place, generating a culture committed to prompt and decisive action when allegations arise.”

De Groot said the governance review was now the church’s key priority.

“We have a draft plan,” he said, although he admitted it had been delayed from its original October target by the need to finalize an update for the Australian government on the church’s response to the Royal Commission recommendations.

A review of the governance of the Catholic Church was one of commission’s central recommendations.

…..

A five-page project plan for the review into the management of dioceses and parishes, released last May, said in its introduction: “The appalling revelations of widespread sexual abuse of children by clerics and in church organizations and the mishandling of complaints of abuse have been a lightning rod attracting and focusing attention on calls for cultural and practical renewal and reforms as an essential part of the response to the tragedy.”

“If there is to be a restoration of trust and credibility in the church in a way that will make it a safe place for all who come to it and that will enable it to proclaim its Gospel mission, there must be ‘real social and cultural transformation.’ This can only occur if all of the people of God are involved in the way the church is governed.”

De Groot said it was important that the review was given to the bishops in plenty of time ahead of the first session of the rare Plenary Council of the Australian Church its first in 60 years. The first session of the council will be held in Adelaide this October and the second in Sydney in May 2021.

De Groot said there had been resistance to the review, and any moves to change the traditional management of the church, from more conservative church members.

Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher and Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli have rejected some of the commission’s recommendations, including the legal lifting of the secrecy of the confessional, which is either in the legislative process or has been passed into law by all Australia’s six states and two territories.

Archbishop Comensoli has said he would rather go to jail that obey the law passed by the Victoria state parliament last year.

https://catholicphilly.com/2020/01/news/world-news/committee-to-recommend-australian-bishops-give-laity-certain-controls/

'I’m deeply disturbed': Minister condemns Archbishop's claims

A senior state government minister has hit back at Brisbane's Catholic Archbishop over controversial comments condemning proposed laws that would compel Queensland priests to report the confessions of child abusers.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey took to social media on Thursday morning to slam Archbishop Mark Coleridge's claims laws would "not make a difference to the safety of our young people".

"Given the exposure of widespread institutional sexual abuse of children within many organisations including the Catholic Church, I’m deeply disturbed to hear the Archbishop of Brisbane advocate for continuing the exemption of priests from reporting child sexual abuse to police when made aware of it in confession," he wrote on Facebook.

"This goes against the recommendations of the ground-breaking royal commission widely accepted in our community to stop the sexual abuse of children.

"The secrecy, the cover-ups must stop."

Under the proposed law, the sanctity of the confessional could not be used as an excuse, defence or privilege.

It stemmed from a recommendation from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and follows similar moves by other states.

Archbishop Coleridge, who is also President of the Australian National Bishop's conference, said mandatory reporting should remain in place, but "the privilege of confession be left intact".

"Its abolition would make it certain that abusers would never speak of the abuse in the sacramental celebration, and any hope there may have been that they might be led to see the truth of their crime, stop the abuse and report to civil authorities would be lost," he wrote.

"The state would effectively be saying that there is some sin that cannot be forgiven, that God has no part to play in this, that clergy should be agents of the state, that the sacrament of penance is outlawed."

Mr Bailey was backed up by Labor backbenchers Chris Whiting and Megan Scanlon.

"I was raised a Catholic, baptised, completed my holy communion and went to a Catholic primary and secondary school," Ms Scanlon wrote on Facebook.

"I’ve also had family and friends robbed of their childhood – abused, betrayed and let down by people and an institution they trusted and had faith in.

"I appreciate that this will be difficult for some. At the end of the day, I believe we have an obligation to do everything in our power to protect children from evil."

In its public submission, child protection advocate group Bravehearts said the need for churches to reform was clear if there was to be zero tolerance for child sexual assault and no sanctuary for child sex offenders.

"Certainly, with the issue of child protection, secular law should override any church law and there should be no exemptions," it wrote.

"We believe that for most parents, if their child was being sexually assaulted and the offender confessed to a priest or a child disclosed within confession, they would want the authorities to know about it."

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/i-m-deeply-disturbed-minister-condemns-archbishop-s-claims-20200116-p53ryp.html

Mark Bailey MP Tweet

I’m deeply disturbed the Brisbane Archbishop opposes new laws requiring priests to report child sexual abuse just like doctors/teachers/nurses.

The secrecy, cover-ups, abuse must stop via stronger laws in Qld backing the royal commission recommendations

https://twitter.com/MarkBaileyMP/status/1217573002176536583

'This is an ugly work': Trump's giant empty head descends on Ballarat

Want to get inside the US president’s head? Callum Morton’s ‘very confronting’ public artwork offers that peculiar pleasure

What’s inside Donald Trump’s head?

In a sculptural depiction of the US president’s head by the Australian artist Callum Morton, which popped up in Ballarat on Wednesday, not much.

Instead, the piece of public art – three metres high, made from fibreglass, resin and timber – is an empty space that viewers of the work can climb in and inhabit for themselves.

A combination of sculpture and architecture, the outdoor work – titled Monument #32: Helter Shelter – emerges from the ground, and contains a shelter fitted with bench seating, and decorated by inferno flames.

Since it debuted at the Barangaroo precinct in Sydney, it’s been popular on Instagram and has travelled to Queensland. On Wednesday it debuted in Victoria, at Alfred Deakin Place behind the Art Gallery of Ballarat.

Morton, a professor of art at Monash University who has been exhibited at Australia’s major art institutions and around the world, made Monument #32 in response to our current political times. “I am interested – actually I am appalled – by these hard-right, alt-right figures,” he told Guardian Australia. “I am aware that this is an ugly work, it is a vulgar work – a bit like him. The work is very confronting.” Friends of Morton’s have threatened to tip it into Sydney Harbour, he said.

Morton spoke to the Guardian while driving through bushfire smoke haze on his way to Ballarat for the work’s opening event. “[The piece is] now going out in the context of the fires. The country is on fire. This figure [Trump] can create these circumstances via climate change denialism. We are in a time where we need to look at the world. We’re living in the smoke haze.”

But what if you are a fan of Donald Trump? Could the work be seen in a positive light?

“People who like Donald Trump are crazy,” he says bluntly. “I understand people who are attracted to the alt-right – it gives people a focus. [Alt-right figures] draw on imperial nostalgia to reassure people.”

Morton puts Morrisson in the same camp. “I don’t think you can find hope in politics any more – it’s a mockery of representation.”

But while his outlook is grim, the work itself is colourful and cartoonish.

“I’ve always been drawn to The Simpsons, to saturated colour and hyper graphic work. I want to make beautiful things – beautiful things are reassuring. Sometimes I do works of beauty – and sometimes I do work like this.”

While Morton says he didn’t intend to make an image that would spread fast on social media, “any work that is kind of readable in the public sphere in a pop veneer is an Instagrammable work”.

He says it “belongs to the language of the protest march”, comparing it to paper mache puppets of politicians that appear at rallies. Ultimately though, “I don’t dictate how people read the work. Everyone will bring their own thing to it.”

Monument #32: Helter Shelter is showing at the Art Gallery of Ballarat until 5 April

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/jan/15/this-is-an-ugly-work-donald-trumps-giant-empty-head-descends-on-ballarat

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn0cGLch3kj/

UK cops block bid to trace Prince Andrew’s location on night he’s accused of sex with teen

British police have blocked a legal bid to trace Prince Andrew’s bodyguards’ movements on the night he allegedly first had sex with a Jeffrey Epstein accuser.

The disgraced royal claims that he could not have had sex with Virginia Roberts Giuffre in London in March 2001 — because he was grabbing pizza with his daughter at a chain restaurant in the small town of Woking.

With no witnesses of the prince’s pie date, the Mirror Online submitted a Freedom of Information Act request hoping that his royal protection officers’ movements would help prove his whereabouts that day.

But London’s Met police rejected the request, citing national security concerns — and sparking an immediate backlash, the UK news site said.

Graham Smith, of anti-monarchy group Republic, slammed the decision.

“Revealing locations from 19 years ago cannot possibly reveal personal data, either directly or indirectly,” Smith told Mirror Online. “The police are tasked with protecting the royals from physical harm, not from legitimate inquiry, criminal investigation or embarrassment.”

Giuffre — who claims to have had sex with Andrew three times after being trafficked by late pedophile Epstein — attacked the “lies after lies” that she claims protect the prince.

“There could only be one reason the prince’s bodyguards would not to expose where the prince had been on March 10th 2001- the night in question, bc he wasn’t at Woking Pizza with his daughter B,” she tweeted, referring to Princess Beatrice.

Giuffre claims she first had sex with the royal when she was 17 at Ghislaine Maxwell’s townhouse where a now-infamous photo was taken of them together.

Andrew gave his Pizza Express alibi during his disastrous BBC interview that led to him being booted from royal duties.

Both he and Buckingham Palace have vehemently denied Giuffre’s allegations. Epstein, 66, died last August after being found hanged in his Manhattan lockup facing serious sex crimes.

https://nypost.com/2020/01/15/uk-cops-block-bid-to-trace-prince-andrews-location-on-night-hes-accused-of-sex-with-teen/

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweets

There could only be one reason the princes bodyguards would not to expose where the prince had been on March 10th 2001- the night in question, bc he wasn’t at Woking Pizza with his daughter B. Lies after lies- so frustrating!! #notatwokingpizza #PrinceAndrew #GhislaineMaxwell

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1217255483339202561

——–

You saw me at your parties, you saw me in Epstein’s homes, you saw me on the plane, you saw me get my haircut, you saw me on the streets, you watched me be abused. You saw me! #Awareness #Justice #GhislaineMaxwell #JeffreyEpstein #NaomiCampbell #PrinceAndrew

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1217617031912030208

How Joe Hockey remade himself into Australia's Trump-whisperer

Washington: When Donald Trump sat down with Joe Hockey for a meeting in the Oval Office this week, the US President had plenty to think about. The Senate was preparing to launch its impeachment trial and the US was about to sign a breakthrough trade deal with China.

Yet Trump had koalas on the brain.

"He was asking a lot of questions about the bushfires," says Hockey, who finishes his four-year term as Australia's US ambassador this month.

"We talked about the koalas on Kangaroo Island and the fact they are one of the only populations remaining that are Chlamydia-free.

"He said, 'Oh that's terrible! Is there anything else we can do to help?'

"That is the level of detail we're getting down to," Hockey says, laughing in disbelief at one of the many surreal moments he has experienced during his time as Australia's representative in Washington.

The encounter, Hockey says, illustrates something he believes many Australians don't appreciate about Trump: his inquisitiveness.

"Donald Trump has a very curious mind, he likes to understand things," Hockey tells The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in an extended interview at White Oaks, the US ambassador's official residence.

"He will ask you a lot of questions and store the information away. That would surprise people because that's not always how he comes across."

The fact Trump met Hockey privately to bid him farewell reflects the unusually high level of access the ambassador has enjoyed during his tenure.

Many foreign leaders struggle to obtain one-on-one meetings with the US President, let alone ambassadors from mid-sized countries.

"It is a privilege that is only reserved for the folks that we hold in the highest regard," Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, tells The Herald and The Age.

…..

When Hockey and his family landed in Washington in January 2016, presidential campaigning was already in full swing.

It was at a Republican primary debate in March that Hockey first met Trump, who was then a renegade political novice blasting his way to the Republican nomination.

Watching Trump up close convinced Hockey that he had a strong chance of winning the presidency.

"Donald Trump defines and destroys his opponents better than almost anyone else I've ever seen.

Yet when Trump won the election it triggered "root and branch shock in Canberra".

"I had suggested to Malcolm Turnbull during a visit to Australia that Donald Trump could win and he was almost disbelieving," Hockey says.

"As the result was coming in on election night he was speaking to me and was aghast like the rest of the world."

In the scramble to obtain Trump's phone number in the days following the election, Hockey famously asked a favour of Trump's friend Greg Norman. The golf legend promptly passed it along, allowing Turnbull and Trump to make an early connection.

"The diplomatic rule book was thrown on the funeral pyre the day of the 2016 election," Hockey says. "We were in a whole new world."

Together Hockey and Turnbull decided to approach Trump as they would a famous late Australian media mogul.

"Donald Trump reminds me a lot of Kerry Packer and it was the same for Malcolm Turnbull [who served as a Packer's longtime lawyer and confidante at Channel Nine].

"We talked a lot about that and it helped us work out our strategy for interacting with the President.

"He is verbal, visual, he's not a technocrat, there is a lot of gut instinct there. And Kerry Packer respected you more if you were honest and frank without being sycophantic. It's the same with Trump."

Hockey says one of the mistakes other countries have made is to believe you have to suck up to Trump to get results. It's better to state your disagreements strongly but to make sure you keep them private.

Indeed, in a famous call with Trump, Turnbull was anything but sycophantic.

He forcefully requested that Trump honour an Obama-era deal to resettle refugees from Manus Island and Nauru in the US - even though the President had won office on a tough-on-borders platform. Trump, after much complaining, eventually agreed.

(continued)

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/north-america/how-joe-hockey-remade-himself-into-australia-s-trump-whisperer-20200117-p53s8h.html

Repost from Q Research General #10024

>>7831469 (pb)

Westpac linked to international paedophilia case after Australian man charged

Westpac has been linked to an international paedophilia case following the arrest of a notorious Australian sex offender who is suspected of using the bank’s transfer system to pay for live-streamed child abuse videos in south-east Asia.

It is the first instance where an attempt to procure abuse of a child has been tied to Westpac’s failure to heed warnings since 2016 from money laundering watchdog AUSTRAC that lax standards for its LitePay and other money transfer systems could be used to facilitate the international child sex trade.

The Victorian man allegedly attempted to arrange for a child to be exploited in a south-east Asian country recently. It is not known whether the alleged abuse went ahead.

The criminal charges against the man come after Westpac had been privately suggesting to the market since the scandal broke in late November that there was no evidence any act of child exploitation had occurred despite more than 3000 suspicious payments being identified.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been arrested and charged by the Australian Federal Police with soliciting child abuse material and possessing child abuse material.

Police are still examining thousands of the man's private social media messages.

The AFP declined to comment because the matter is before the courts.

Legal restrictions prevent the publication of details of the case, except that the man allegedly used Westpac systems to send tens of thousands of dollars to a south-east Asian country in more than 100 transactions since late 2018 and recently attempted to solicit live-streamed child sex abuse.

The man has denied any wrongdoing.

The registered sex offender had already served a substantial jail term for ordering live-streamed child sex abuse from contacts in a south-east Asian country.

A Westpac spokesman said the bank was unable to provide comment on specific matters while proceedings are before the court.

“We have made a number of changes to our transaction monitoring to lift our standards and ensure our financial crime processes meet our obligations,” he said. “Westpac is working co-operatively to resolve this matter with AUSTRAC.”

The revelation will be a further blow to the embattled institution, which has already lost its chief executive Brian Hartzer, experienced massive share price drops and suffered an intense backlash from the public, politicians and shareholders.

Westpac announced on Thursday that it had appointed Colin Carter, president of the Geelong Football Club, as the third member of an advisory panel reviewing the bank board's risk, governance and accountability.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/westpac-linked-to-international-paedophilia-case-after-australian-man-charged-20200116-p53s61.html

Man detained over ‘high level exploitation’

A MAN who police suspect is involved in the high level exploitation of foreign workers was found hiding in the roof space of a Perth home unit.

Australian Border Force officers have detained a 28-year-old Chinese unlawful non-citizen suspected of being involved in the high level exploitation of foreign workers in the food processing industry in WA.

The man was detained during the execution of a warrant at a residence in Cannington yesterday.

ABF officers found the man hiding in the roof space of the home unit and he has been taken to the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre.

It is alleged the man established a number of shell companies acting as labour hire intermediaries to recruit workers into the food processing industry.

The companies have allegedly been involved in money transfers totalling almost $4 million.

The search warrant was part of Operation Battenrun, a national operation targeting labour hire intermediaries and entities of interest exploiting vulnerable onshore foreign workers, including unlawful non-citizens.

ABF’s Commander of Field Operations James Copeman said the man was a high level Battenrun target after being identified as a key player in the exploitation of foreign workers in WA.

“The individuals we are targeting in this operation are not those that are being exploited but those non-citizens that are facilitating illegal work and organised migration fraud,” he said.

“We will not tolerate those people who are making significant profits from the exploitation of vulnerable foreign workers.

“We encourage individuals who are being exploited, regardless of visa status, to come forward and provide the ABF with information so we can identify and take action against those involved in these practices.”

Visa holders who do not comply with their visa conditions due to workplace exploitation, will generally not have their visa cancelled, be detained or removed if they come forward and assist with inquiries.

Anyone who is aware of an individual, business or employer who might be facilitating visa fraud or illegal work is urged to contact Border Watch at australia.gov.au/borderwatch

https://www.communitynews.com.au/canning-times/news/man-detained-over-high-level-exploitation/

>>7574260

Search for next Australian Cyber Security Centre chief begins

As outgoing head prepares to leave.

The Australian Signals Directorate has begun searching for a new chief to take charge of the country’s peak technical cyber security authority, the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

The national cyber spy agency put out the call on Thursday in preparation for the departure of outgoing head Rachel Noble, who will become ASD’s new director-general next month.

iTnews understand that it is the first time the high-profile position has been openly advertised since at the 2017 review of Australia’s security agencies. ACSC was opened in November 2014.

Noble, who has been ASCS head since replacing former national cyber security advisor Alastair MacGibbon in June, is the first woman to be appointed to lead a core Australian intelligence agency.

She replaces former director-general Mike Burgess, who left the agency in September to become the new director-general of security in charge of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

The new ASCS chief will be expected to maintain the agency’s position as Australia’s peak technical cyber security authority by delivering programs and capabilities that proactively reduce security risk.

According to the job ad, this include providing advice to individuals, business and critical infrastructure operators to allow them to understand and act on current security threats.

The “highly motivated, outcome driven” SES Band 3 level executive, who will double as an ASD deputy director-general, will also be responsible for providing advice to government on operational cyber security.

“You will also be the Government’s authority on operational cyber security, responsible for shaping and uplifting Australia’s national cyber security ecosystem to help make Australia the safest place to connect online,” the job ad states.

ASD and ACSC have taken an increasingly hands-on role towards uplifting government cyber resilience since early 2016 after being funded for a program of work that embeds experts in agencies for up to six weeks to evaluate and develop strategies regarding their IT security posture.

The program began around the time of the state-sponsored cyber-attack against Parliament House, which ASD has since branded the country’s “first national cyber crisis”

ASD expects the successful candidate will have a “sophisticated knowledge of cyber security” that has been obtained through extensive work in both the public and private sectors, and must be able to obtain Top Secret Positive Vetting.

“You will have demonstrated experience in exercising sound judgment to manage competing requirements in a highly dynamic strategic, technical and social environment, during a time of increasing demand,” the job ad states.

“Whilst experience working within the National Intelligence Community is not a pre-requisite, you will have a solid understanding of government processes and demonstrate success in working with ministers.

“Additionally you will have demonstrated adaptive leadership capabilities to develop a high-performing operational and technical workforce operating in a challenging and high-pressured environment.”

Applicants have just two weeks to get their application – and accompanying 1000-word response – in, with submissions set to close on January 30.

ASD is also currently looking to fill the role of deputy director-general signals intelligence and network operations.

The position is responsible for “signals intelligence collection, analysis and production, ASD’s network-based access and effects operations including offensive cyber”

https://www.itnews.com.au/news/search-for-next-australian-cyber-security-centre-chief-begins-536627?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=editors_picks

https://www.apsjobs.gov.au/s/job-details?returl=job-search&Id=a055m000000ImkFAAS

https://defencecareers.nga.net.au/cp/index.cfm?event=jobs.checkJobDetailsNewApplication&returnToEvent=jobs.processJobSearch&jobid=7A8B27C2-5A4C-951E-3C60-B600B4864264

Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Giuffre appear in court to hash out plan to unseal documents that name MORE high profile individuals connected to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring

The attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Giuffre appeared today to hash out a time frame with the court as it weighs unsealing more documents naming high-profile individuals connected to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.

The documents are part of Giuffre’s 2015 defamation suit against Maxwell, Epstein’s alleged madam and one-time girlfriend. Epstein, who was facing sex-trafficking charges, hung himself in his Manhattan jail cell in August.

Giuffre has long claimed that Maxwell recruited her into Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring where she was passed on to other high-profile men including Prince Andrew. The British royal has denied the claims.

Maxwell, who also denies the allegations, publicly denounced Giuffre as a liar, leading her to file a civil lawsuit.

The conference was held at 10am in Manhattan Federal Court before U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska and involved attorneys for Maxwell, Giuffre and ‘John Does 1 and 2’.

Neither Giuffre nor Maxwell appeared at the hearing and when asked about Maxwell's whereabouts the plaintiff’s lawyers admitted they still have no idea where she is hiding. Recent reports claim she is being hidden from the FBI in a series of safe houses.

Judge Preska today urged the lawyers to streamline the review of documents and suggested that the motions be grouped into ‘batches of five’, meaning they would be released on a ‘rolling basis’.

The judge also asked for a plan on how ‘non-parties’, whose names are in the documents, would be notified and given the chance to respond.

The Judge said that Maxwell had written to the court on December 5, 2019, citing ‘various reasons for maintaining sealed materials’ with ‘privacy’ being a key concern.

Maxwell’s attorney, Laura Menninger, said that some of the ‘non-parties’ are ‘in positions of means with counsel’ but noted that some ‘live out of the country or in remote places… without counsel’ and so would need a fair chance to file their objections via letter, to which Judge Preska agreed.

The non-parties are to be notified in two weeks, Judge Preska said. Once the non-parties respond, Maxwell and Giuffre’s legal teams will be able to file their oppositions.

Sigrid McCawley, attorney for Giuffre, raised the issue that the next document dump of material would be reflect badly on her client as ‘Maxwell is not objecting to any items that could be negative to Virginia’.

Preska said that she no reason for documents to be withheld ‘to which there is no countervailing interest’ and said they should be released ‘ASAP’.

Following the court hearing, Menninger ignored a question on the whereabouts of Ghislaine Maxwell.

Outside court, Giuffre’s attorney, Sigrid McCawley, said: 'Virginia is very pleased that Judge Preska has embarked on this process to start finally releasing these documents that are critical to the public to be able to access the information.

'It's always been Virginia's goal to uncover the severity of the sexual trafficking scheme, and yesterday’s filing in the U.S. Virgin islands notes again that this was going on all over the world for many years with a young females ranging as young as 11 and into young adulthood.

'Her mission has been to expose that sex trafficking scheme and the work that we're doing here is an effort to make sure that that does not remain under seal anymore.

'We're hopeful that the documents are going to be released expeditiously.'

McCawley addressed the fact that Maxwell had not objected to documents being unsealed which are 'negative' to Virginia.

'In this process, we want it to be fair and equal and Virginia was always willing to have this be an open process, but she wanted it to be open on both sides.

(continued)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7896171/Lawyers-Ghislaine-Maxwell-Virginia-Giuffre-hash-plan-release-docs.html

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet

Sigrid McCawley is a warrior badass!! Watch her standup for the countless victims of Epstein & Maxwell’s prolific global trafficking Op. A huge thank you to the honourable Judge Loretta Preska for being fair & wise. #EnoughsEnough #ReleaseTheDocs

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1218000629974458368

White House chief of staff confirms Trump's desire to visit Australia

Washington: Donald Trump will make visiting Australia one of his top priorities if he wins re-election in November, according to one of the US President's most senior advisers.

In a rare interview with a foreign media outlet, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney also told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that the Trump administration wants to strike a final "phase two" trade deal with China this year.

Mulvaney, who has overseen White House operations for the past year, said that Trump and his wife Melania had been extremely keen to travel to Australia to attend the President's Cup golf tournament in Melbourne last year.

But the mid-December timing of the event clashed with the Christmas holiday season, which is packed with presidential events. It also coincided with the impeachment of Trump in the House of Representatives for his dealings with Ukraine.

"One of the highlights of 2019 for this presidency was the official visit and state dinner with Prime Minister Scott Morrison in September," Mulvaney said.

"The President still talks about it. The first lady still talks about it. The whole town still talks about it and what a positive experience it was.

"I know Australia is interested in reciprocating and that we're interested in getting there as soon as we possibly can."

It is highly unlikely the President would be able to travel to Australia this year given the presidential election in November.

Mulvaney said that Australia would be a big beneficiary of the "phase one" trade deal announced by the US and China this week.

"Any time that the two largest economies in the world are working together productively, the benefits of that rebound worldwide," he said.

That includes, "to countries like Australia that are so closely linked to the Chinese economy and provide raw materials to China."

"Does that mean everything is finished in terms of fixing our relationship with China? No. Will there be ongoing discussions? Obviously."

The US has maintained tariffs on a majority of Chinese imports and the Chinese government has yet to agree to America's demands to reform the way state-owned enterprises operate.

Mulvaney said it was "certainly possible" the two countries could strike a "phase two" agreement addressing these issues before the November election.

The US has maintained tariffs on a majority of Chinese imports and the Chinese government has yet to agree to America's demands to reform the way state-owned enterprises operate.

Mulvaney said it was "certainly possible" the two countries could strike a "phase two" agreement addressing these issues before the November election.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/white-house-chief-of-staff-confirms-trump-s-desire-to-visit-australia-20200117-p53sb3.html