Appeals court clears French cardinal Barbarin of shielding paedophile priest

A French appeals court has acquitted a French cardinal of covering up the sexual abuse of minors in his flock.

The appeals court in the southeastern French city of Lyon gave no explanation on Thursday for its ruling.

Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon, had been convicted in March and given a six-month suspended sentence for failing to report a predator priest to police. But Pope Francis refused to accept the cardinal's decision to resign until the appeals process is complete.

The prosecutor's office had sought the acquittal accorded by the court.

“This decision is logical,” one of Barbarin's lawyer's, Felix Luciani, said outside the courtroom. He said the cardinal had faced down “public rumor and calumny.”

Barbarin, 69, said at his appeals trial in November that he filed an appeal because "I cannot see clearly what I am guilty of."

The verdict comes at a time of increasing scrutiny around the world of the Catholic Church’s role in hiding abuse by its clergy.

The court had ruled that Barbarin, "in wanting to avoid scandal caused by the facts of multiple sexual abuses committed by a priest … preferred to take the risk of preventing the discovery of many victims of sexual abuse by the justice system, and to prohibit the expression of their pain.”

Bernard Preynat, the now-defrocked priest at the center of the scandal, described to a court at his trial earlier this month how he systematically abused boys over two decades as a French scout chaplain. Preynat said his superiors knew about his “abnormal” behavior as far back as the 1970s.

“Had the church sidelined me earlier, I would have stopped earlier,” Preynat said.

Preynat, now 74, faces up to 10 years in prison in what is France's biggest clergy sex abuse trial to date. He's suspected of abusing around 75 boys, but his testimony suggests the overall number could be even higher. That verdict is expected in March.

The case against Barbarin hinges on a 2014 discussion with victim Alexandre Hezez, who told the cardinal about the sexual abuse he had suffered in the 1980s by Preynat during scout camps. Hezez felt the priest should no longer lead a parish.

Barbarin told the appeal hearing that he followed Vatican instructions after that discussion with Hezez. He suggested he could not have done more.

At the trial of Preynat, victims testified about how much power the priest had held over them and the lifelong damage that his abuse caused.

“I saw this community that admired this man, and I was his protege, his pet,” said victim Francois Devaux.

https://www.france24.com/en/20200130-appeals-court-clears-french-cardinal-barbarin-of-shielding-paedophile-priest

Fitton: Impeachment-Coup Update

From Tom Fitton’s Op-Ed for Breitbart:

The President, the rule of law, and our Constitution continue to be abused as the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump continues.

We’ve done many media interviews on the current crisis, notably with Lou Dobbs and Dan Bongino. (My interview with Dan was retweeted by President Trump!) The president is going to be acquitted but with significant damage to our republic, the very notion of self-government, our Constitution, and the rule of law generally. As I’ve previously noted:

There has been nothing in American history that compares to the coup attack against President Trump. It has been nothing but a wild abuse of the Constitution. Frankly, the word impeachment should be replaced with the word coup, because the president was illicitly targeted for removal from office for doing his job in asking questions about Ukraine corruption and its ties to Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden and Burisma. To be clear, the president was also attacked for objecting to the House Democrats’ abuse of his office.

https://www.judicialwatch.org/in-the-news/fitton-impeachment-coup-update/

Tennessee State Rep. Files Bill To Officially Designate CNN As FAKE NEWS

Now that’s legislation everyone can get behind!

In a move that is sure to please President Trump, a State Representative in Tennessee has introduced legislation that would officially designate CNN, as well as The Washington Post, as fake news.

Republican Rep. Micah Van Huss filed the bill Wednesday, with the summary describing it as “A RESOLUTION to recognize CNN and The Washington Post as fake news and condemn them for denigrating our citizens.”

Taking to social media, Van Huss, a former Marine who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, declared “I’ve filed HJR 779 on behalf of a constituency that’s tired of fake news and Republicans who don’t fight.”

The legislation insists that The Washington Post and CNN have drawn a “line between Trump opponents and Trump supporters” by describing Trump voters as “cultists.”

The bill describes a specific instance where a CNN talking head “suggested that Trump supporters belong to a cult and that our president is using mind control.”

Infowars reported on the segment, aired last November on CNN, where Brian Stelter brought on ‘cult expert’, Steven Hassan, author of a book titled The Cult of Trump.

The pair urged viewers that the President is a ‘pathological liar’, and displays ‘the characteristics of destructive cult leader’.

They further suggested that ‘mind controlled’ Trump supporters need to be ‘deprogrammed’ and broken out of their ‘bubbles’.

https://governmentslaves.news/2020/01/30/tennessee-state-rep-files-bill-to-officially-designate-cnn-as-fake-news/

Netanyahu, Putin talk Syria, Trump's 'Deal of the Century' in Kremlin

“This visit symbolizes our ties getting even closer,” the prime minister said.

MOSCOW - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the current situation in Syria and US President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace plan at a meeting in the Kremlin on Thursday.

Netanyahu discussed ways to achieve Israel’s goal of gradually eliminating an Iranian presence in Syria, a senior source in his delegation said. The matter also came up in his meeting with Trump on Monday.

“There are new details all the time which require constant coordination,” the course said. “We have a constant goal to avoid friction between our armies.”

The discussions were not only about military matters, but about what Syria will look like in the future, including in matters like infrastructure.

Netanyahu also presented Putin with Trump’s plan for Israel and the Palestinians, giving him a copy of the plan’s map.

The senior source said Putin asked “in-depth questions” about how the plan would work.

At the meeting’s opening, Putin said he and Netanyahu would “discuss bilateral subjects. There are developments in economic and other areas.”

Netanyahu said “relations between Russia and Israel are the strongest they have ever been.”

The two also discussed Putin’s participation in the Fifth World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem last week, as well as the dedication of a monument in honor of the victims of the WWII Leningrad siege. Putin praised the monument, and Netanyahu said that the Russian president’s address at Yad Vashem was moving.

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Netanyahu-arrives-in-Moscow-meets-with-Vladimir-Putin-615926

ICE HSI, CBP operation seizes record-breaking $123 million of fake sports merchandise

MIAMI – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced Thursday the seizure of more than 176,000 counterfeit sports-related items, worth an estimated $123 million manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), through a collaborative enforcement operation targeting international shipments of counterfeit merchandise into the United States.

The seizures were part of Operation Team Player, an ongoing effort developed by the HSI-led Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Center to target the illegal importation and distribution of counterfeit sports merchandise, and were revealed in Miami, Florida, at a joint press conference with the National Football League (NFL), HSI, CBP and the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD).

“Every day, cargo containers containing billions of dollars’ worth of counterfeit goods enter the United States through its land, sea and air ports of entry. This year’s record-breaking ‘Operation Team Player’ results affirm HSI’s commitment to protecting American consumers, the economy, and legitimate business, by ensuring Super Bowl 54 is not compromised by transnational criminal networks exploiting fan enthusiasm for illicit profits. Sports fans from around the world, who’ve spent their hard-earned money to support their favorite NFL team, deserve to receive genuine, high-quality officially licensed merchandise in return,” said HSI-led IPR Center Director Steve Francis.

Special agents from HSI teamed with industry, CBP, Miami-Dade police officers and other partner agencies to identify flea markets, retail outlets and street vendors selling counterfeit goods during the week leading up to Super Bowl LIV (54). They seized fake jerseys, jewelry, hats, cell-phone accessories and thousands of other bogus items prepared to be sold to unsuspecting consumers.

“Operation Team Player remains one of the most important national initiatives for protecting sports fans from the sale of counterfeit products and counterfeit tickets. The joint efforts of the NFL, the IPR Center, HSI, CBP, and Miami area law enforcement have helped ensure that Super Bowl LIV remains an authentic and outstanding experience for our fans,” said NFL Vice President of Legal Affairs, Dolores DiBella. “The NFL is committed to supporting these anti-counterfeiting and consumer protection measures, and extends its gratitude for the year-round support of law enforcement partners who drove the success of Operation Team Player.”

Last year, HSI announced that enforcement actions related to Operation Team Player resulted in the seizure of $24.2 million worth of counterfeit sports-merchandise. Enforcement actions related to this year’s operation led to a 400 percent increase in the overall MSRP of seized goods from Super Bowl 53.

This year’s Operation Team Player began at the conclusion of last year’s Super Bowl. Throughout the year, the IPR Center led coordinated efforts with major sporting leagues to target contraband that impacts the economy, enables additional criminality and poses potential health and safety hazards to the public.

“To protect both private industry and consumers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has made IPR enforcement a priority trade issue. We have developed a multi-layered, strategic approach to IPR enforcement, that uses technology to increase interdiction of fake goods, facilitate partnerships with industry and enhance enforcement efforts through the sharing of information and intelligence,” said Christopher D. Maston, CBP Miami International Airport Port Director. “We are honored to be working with a far-reaching network of law enforcement partners, public safety agencies and stakeholders to support efforts enforcing the nation’s Intellectual Property Rights laws in Miami for Super Bowl 54.”

“When fans spend their hard earned money on NFL tickets and merchandise, they deserve the real deal,” said MDPD Maj. Eric Garcia. “The Miami-Dade Police Department is fully committed to collaborating and partnering with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to proactively enforce laws related to counterfeit merchandise in order to protect businesses and consumers.”

The IPR Center – formally codified in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 – is one of the U.S. government's key weapons in the fight against criminal counterfeiting and piracy. The center uses the expertise of its 25 member agencies to share information, develop initiatives, coordinate enforcement actions, and conduct investigations related to intellectual property theft and its enforcement of international trade laws.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-hsi-cbp-operation-seizes-record-breaking-123-million-fake-sports-merchandise

>>7967258

Tony Macrontana

New Zealand voters to decide in September referendum if doctors can kill sick patients

The law would allow medical practitioners to accommodate death requests for terminal and, in some cases, non-terminal conditions.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, January 29, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Voters will decide whether to legalize the practice of doctors killing sick patients, making New Zealand the first country in the world to decide on euthanasia via referendum.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the referendum, which will be held September 19. On the same day, voters will decide whether to return Ardern to power.

If the euthanasia referendum passes with more than 50 percent of the vote, the End of Life Choice Act of 2019 would go into effect exactly one year after the results are finalized. Currently, the aiding and abeting of suicide is illegal, according to New Zealand’s criminal code.

If the new euthanasia law goes pass, it would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of substances to patients requesting death who are believed to have less than six months to live.

According to the bill, a person is eligible for assisted killing when he or she “is in an advanced state of irreversible decline in physical capability, experiences unbearable suffering that cannot be relieved in a manner that the person considers tolerable” and “is competent to make an informed decision about assisted dying.” The bill would allow a medical practitioner to administer the death-dealing substances to the patient.

However, the bill also would allow those who have a non-terminal, “grievous and irremediable medical condition” to request lethal euthanasia. It prohibits euthanasia in cases when patients are disabled, elderly, mentally ill, or have a mental disorder.

Voluntary euthanasia is legal in Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, and several U.S. states. Non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia are illegal worldwide and mostly seen as murder, even while there have been reports that babies diagnosed with certain disabilities have been at times abandoned and left without treatment by physicians in the Netherlands.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/new-zealand-voters-to-decide-in-september-referendum-if-doctors-can-kill-sick-patients

E. Jean Carroll: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

E. Jean Carroll is an American advice columnist and writer. In June 2019, New York Magazine published an excerpt from Carroll’s new book, “What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal.” In that excerpt, Carroll, 75, alleges that Donald Trump attacked her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room.

Carroll, famed for her “Ask E. Jean” column which has appeared in Elle magazine since 1993, will appear on the cover of New York Magazine’s June 27th edition. The text on the cover reads, “This is what I was wearing 23 years ago when Donald Trump attacked me in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room.” Carroll places the incident as occurring in late 1995 or early 1996. At that stage of her career, Carroll was a renowned writer and was even nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on “Saturday Night Live” in 1975.

Carroll was raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, having been born in Detroit. Carroll is a graduate of Indiana University where she was a cheerleader, winning the Miss Cheerleader USA title in 1964. She began writing the “Ask E. Jean” column in September 1993. The column was turned into a TV show for America’s Talking, NBC’s pre-cursor to MSNBC, between 1994 and 1996. Carroll’s work has been featured in Esquire, Playboy and Outside.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Carroll Says Trump Pinned Her Against a Wall & ‘Forced His Fingers & Penis Around My Private Area’

Carroll’s book is released publicly on July 2. Trump is one of six men who Carroll accuses of assaulting her. Another is former CBS CEO Les Moonves. During the excerpt, Carroll says that when she first encountered Trump he recognized her as “that advice lady.” While Carroll called him “that real-estate tycoon.” Carroll described helping Trump buy a lingerie gift for a woman, at the time Trump was married to his second wife, Marla Maples. When Trump insisted that Carroll try on the lingerie, she says he pushed her up against a wall began “forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me.”

You can read the full excerpt of the book here.

1. The White House Has Called Carroll’s Allegations ‘a Completely False & Unrealistic Story’

https://youtu.be/ldP8YNAPlTw

he New York Magazine feature notes that Carroll is the 16th woman to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct and the 14th to accuse Les Moonves of the same. Both have refuted the allegations with the White House telling New York Magazine, “This is a completely false and unrealistic story surfacing 25 years after allegedly taking place and was created simply to make the President look bad.” Carroll writes that she told two friends about the Trump incident, both journalists. One told her to go to the police while another told her to keep it to herself as “He has 200 lawyers. He’ll bury you.”

https://heavy.com/news/2019/06/e-jean-carroll/

>>7967440

So many notables missed last few breads

Not even going that quick even with Q posting.

Remember when we had a BO that monitored the kitchen??? Stopped the ABCs from controlling the narrative?????