/qnotables20/ - ===Q Notables 2020===

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10682663 (171750ZSEP20) Notable: VIC based coffee company Bean Around Town. Logo: 3 pedo swirls, 3 pentagrams., MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Bean_Around_Town_Logo_Pedo_Swirl.png, Unclassified_Pedo_Symbols.png, Bean_Around_Town_Australia.png

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VIC based coffee company Bean Around Town.

Logo: 3 pedo swirls, 3 pentagrams.

https://www.beanaroundtown.com.au/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10692556 (181031ZSEP20) Notable: Fiona Patten MP Tweet: Indeed!, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: FP_1.jpg, EiJ76lEU8AA_4ux.jpg, 330px_Fiona_Patten_Portrait_2013.jpg, 1440px_Fiona_Patten.jpg, 1620px_Fiona_Patten_in_2019.jpg

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>>178466

>>178519

Fiona Patten MP Tweets

This arrived in the mail this morning no return address to thank them #straighttothepoolroom

https://twitter.com/FionaPattenMLC/status/1306743093111128064

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Jerry Zoumis @JerryZoumis

Replying to @FionaPattenMLC

The actual @ChurchofSatan will no doubt think this is lame

https://twitter.com/JerryZoumis/status/1306756879284989953

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The Church Of Satan @ChurchofSatan

Replying to @JerryZoumis and @FionaPattenMLC

Indeed. Looks like something put together by a fanatical Christian based on their bigoted assumptions of what Satanism is about.

https://twitter.com/ChurchofSatan/status/1306760246543527936

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Fiona Patten MP @FionaPattenMLC

Replying to @ChurchofSatan and @JerryZoumis

Indeed!

https://twitter.com/FionaPattenMLC/status/1306760736287281152

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Fiona Patten

Fiona Heather Patten (born 1964) is an Australian politician. She is the leader of the Reason Party and has a seat in the Victorian Legislative Council, representing the Northern Metropolitan Region.

Patten established the Australian Sex Party in 2009 to focus on personal freedoms after deep frustration with stagnation on censorship, freedom, marriage equality and drug law reform. On 22 August 2017, it was announced that the Australian Sex Party would be changing its name to the Reason Party.

Before entering politics, Patten was the CEO of Australia's national adult industry association, Eros Association. She championed sexual rights and health movements for more than 20 years, particularly on HIV/AIDS, after initially starting out as a small businesses owner with her own fashion label.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiona_Patten

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10705505 (190629ZSEP20) Notable: Trump administration offered Assange pardon, Australian lawyer claims, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Julian_Assange_is_driven_from_the_Ecuadorian_embassy_in_London_after_his_arrest_in_April_2019.jpg, A_supporter_of_WikiLeaks_founder_Julian_Assange_takes_part_in_a_protest_outside_the_Central_Criminal_Court_the_Old_Bailey_in_London.jpg

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Trump administration offered Assange pardon, Australian lawyer claims

London: Jennifer Robinson, the Australian lawyer representing Julian Assange, has told his extradition hearing the Trump administration offered the Australian a pardon over the WikiLeaks publications if he outed the source of the 2016 Democratic National Convention email hack.

The emails, which US agencies say were obtained by Russian hackers, were published by WikiLeaks to the benefit of Donald Trump's campaign.

Robinson gave the sensational testimony at Assange's extradition hearing in London.

She said the offer was made by Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Trump associate Charles Johnson, who visited Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2017.

Assange had sought political asylum there to prevent his extradition to Sweden where he faced allegations of sexual assault.

It is not the first time Assange's legal team has made the claim, which has been denied by both the White House and Rohrabacher.

Rohrabacher, a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said his visit was a "fact-finding mission".

"At no time did I offer Julian Assange anything from the President because I had not spoken with the President about this issue at all," Rohrabacher said in a statement in February, when the claims were first made.

"However, when speaking with Julian Assange, I told him that if he could provide me information and evidence about who actually gave him the DNC emails, I would then call on President Trump to pardon him."

But Robinson, who attended the meeting, said a direct offer was made and the pair explicitly stated that they were acting on behalf of the President.

"They said that President Trump was aware of and had approved of them coming to meet Mr Assange to discuss a proposal," she said.

She said Rohrabacher described the offer as a "win-win solution" in which Assange would be given a "pardon, assurance or a commitment" preventing an indictment in return for giving up the source, allowing the 49-year-old to "get on with his life".

"He said the ongoing speculation was damaging to US-Russia relations, that it was reviving old Cold War politics and that it would be in the best interests of the US if the matter could be resolved."

She said they were told that the source of DNC emails "would be of interest, value and assistance to President Trump". At the time, Robert Mueller was investigating Russian interference in the US election and any connections between Trump associates and Russian officials.

Significantly, James Lewis, the QC representing the US government, did not cross-examine Robinson who read from a pre-prepared statement.

"The position of the government is that we don't contest, challenge those things were said, we obviously don't accept the truth of the contents of what was said by others," Lewis said.

Assange's legal team claims his prosecution is political and that his human rights would be violated if he was extradited.

Earlier, the court was told that Assange was "just an Aussie guy" who had devoted himself to making the world a better place by providing classified information in the public interest.

The United States Department of Justice wants Britain to extradite Assange so he can face 18 charges, mostly relating to computer hacking and conspiring with former army analyst Chelsea Manning to hack Pentagon systems.

The DoJ is also prosecuting Assange over the publication of informants, including in Afghanistan and Iraq whose names were published on WikiLeaks, potentially putting them in great harm.

Nicky Hager, an investigative journalist from New Zealand, said that when he travelled to the United Kingdom to work with Assange on the cables in 2010, Assange had wanted to redact the names of informants from documents before they were published on the WikiLeaks website.

The court has previously heard that Assange insisted on stringent redactions and that software was created to scrub all non-English words from the files in the hope that all foreign names would be removed.

The investigative journalist, who relied heavily on the WikiLeaks cables and worked with Assange and WikiLeaks in 2010, blamed "very bad fortune" and "bad luck" for the documents eventually being published online in full.

"I think it was subsequently through very bad fortune and perhaps partly the fact that these kinds of leaks and people of all sorts aren't used to being engaged in them, that the information got out and it shouldn't have," he said.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/trump-administration-offered-assange-pardon-australian-lawyer-claims-20200918-p55x59.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10706258 (190837ZSEP20) Notable: How Victoria’s Covid lockdown protests are galvanising Australia's right - Michael McGowan - theguardian.com, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Anti_lockdown_protesters_face_police_in_Melbourne_last_weekend.jpg

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How Victoria’s Covid lockdown protests are galvanising Australia's right

Liberal MP Craig Kelly and other figures stoking overtly political outrage at the restrictions are finding a thriving audience

Michael McGowan - 19 Sep 2020

1/4

When police in Victoria arrested a 28-year-old pregnant woman named Zoe Buhler at her home near Ballarat over a post on social media two weeks ago, John Roskam’s phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.

“I must have had something like 100 texts and emails that night saying ‘have you seen this?’” Roskam told Guardian Australia this week.

“I think, like everyone, I initially just thought, ‘Gee, that looks bad. I wonder what she’s done?’”

Then, about 11pm, Roskam, the executive director of rightwing thinktank the Institute of Public Affairs, received a phone call from the Liberal party backbench MP Craig Kelly.

“He said, ‘John, have you seen this? We have to do something about it.’”

Buhler was one of a handful of Victorians arrested and charged with incitement in the lead-up to the so-called “freedom day” protests held across Australia on 5 September, a demonstration organised in defiance of lockdown restrictions, mandates on mask-wearing in Victoria, 5G, vaccinations and “child trafficking and pedophilia”.

Victoria police have continued to arrest people associated with the movement in the weeks since, but it was Buhler who sparked a wave of outrage. Footage of the arrest taken by her husband showed her wearing pyjamas as she was placed in handcuffs in front of her children. Within hours of being posted online, the video had attracted more than 1m views.

The arrest was criticised by the president of the Victorian Bar, Wendy Harris QC, who said it appeared to be “disproportionate to the threat she presented”, and even the Victorian police assistant commissioner, Luke Cornelius, who, while defending the arrest, conceded that officers had “absolutely stuffed” the “optics”.

Amid increasing pushback against Daniel Andrews’ government in Victoria, Buhler’s treatment by police has galvanised sections of the right in Australia. Two days after her arrest, conservative columnist Janet Albrechtsen wrote a sympathetic piece about Buhler under the headline “One mum’s desperate voice silenced by fascist behaviour”. On Thursday, Liberty Works, the organisation behind the Australian version of the Conservative Political Action Conference, launched a fundraiser for her legal defence. By Friday afternoon it had raised about $37,500 of its $290,000 goal.

Andrew Cooper, the Liberty Works president, told Guardian Australia he’d been drafted by the Institute of Public Affairs to help with Buhler’s legal case, saying he thought her arrest was “pretty abhorrent”.

“It seems crazy that a Facebook post is something that would lead to an arrest,” he said. “If it was exhorting people to conduct a bombing, then maybe we could have an argument that it’s a criminal matter, but we’re talking about protesting, which I think is fundamental to a democracy.”

But no one has been louder in their criticism than Kelly. Following Buhler’s arrest, the outspoken backbencher shared the footage with his ever-growing Facebook following, describing it as “what you’d expect to see in Nazi Germany”.

“Every politician that voted for laws that allows a pregnant mother to be handcuffed for a Facebook post (that criticises government policy) stands condemned for eternity,” he wrote at the time.

Kelly and Roskam moved quickly to draft Melbourne lawyers Stuart Wood QC and Stephen Andrianaki to act for Buhler pro bono in her case against the Victoria police, and Kelly boasted – again on Facebook – that it was “conservatives standing up to protect Zoe’s rights” while “Labor Luvies” remained silent.

“Zoe’s arrest was completely shocking,” Kelly told Guardian Australia.

“What we are seeing in Victoria is a severe breakdown of the social licence police in Australia enjoy. As politicians, we might want to create laws, but we have to think through how police are going to have to enforce those laws and what the consequence of that might be.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10706380 (190858ZSEP20) Notable: Just like Australia, disinformation is thriving during the US fire crisis - Jason Wilson - theguardian.com, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Firefighters_battle_a_wildfire_near_a_structure_while_defending_the_Mount_Wilson_observatory_during_the_Bobcat_Fire_in_Los_Angeles_California_U_S_September_17_2020.jpg

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Just like Australia, disinformation is thriving during the US fire crisis

In both countries, fake news about arson proliferated while the role of climate change was obscured

Jason Wilson - 19 Sep 2020

1/2

Disinformation successfully obscured the real causes of Australia’s catastrophic bushfire season. Now the same thing is happening around me, as I report on a disastrous wildfire season in the American west.

In both countries, the response to a pandemic is also being complicated by disinformation, as conspiracy theorists refuse isolation, refuse masks, and ready themselves to refuse vaccines.

A lot of the fundamental problems are the same, but there are differences in detail.

In the western United States in recent days, backroads vigilantism has seen civilians set up armed road blocks, and journalists held at the point of loaded assault rifles.

Australia does not have the complication of American gun culture, which is itself one marker of the clash of ideologies and identities in a deeply divided nation, and also raises the stakes on every other social conflict.

Many Australians like to congratulate themselves on their highly restrictive gun laws, figuring that it is the mark of a more civilised society.

That may be, but it’s easy to forget that one of the major stumbling blocks to stricter gun laws in the United States is a bill of rights.

We can argue whether the right to bear arms is a sensible thing to constitutionally enshrine, but Australia has no such constitutionally defined individual rights, beyond those that the high court has seen fit to torture from the document.

The absence of such rights also contains the real world effects of conspiracy theories – the people recently arrested for incitement in Victoria over the promotion of Covid conspiracy theories and anti-lockdown protests would likely enjoy first amendment protections in the US. Whether or not people ought to have the liberty to promote ideas which are, frankly, insane, and a threat to public order, is beyond the scope of this article.

In other ways, Australia is worse off. It is easy to make the mistake of thinking that Fox News, or other skewed or tabloid media, is representative of US media as a whole.

But America’s media is vast. Conservative media is mostly enjoyed by those who have already committed the necessary cognitive self-mutilation to mistake its output for information, and, speaking very generally, although other corporate and local media may be excessively narrow, and TV networks such as Sinclair do skew right, the country does not suffer under the hegemony that News Corporation has achieved in its country of origin.

With its stranglehold on daily newspapers and online news, News Corp in Australia has created the most rightwing media culture in the English speaking world, and they aren’t really accountable to anyone.

Their columnists, and even their news writers, played a big, unconscionable role in pushing horse-hockey about arson and hazard reduction burning. In the western United States, it’s simply inconceivable that local mainstream media outlets would deliberately mislead their audience in this way. (Fox News has, but those who take the network seriously are already lost.)

News gave the conspiracy theories momentum, while other outlets such as Seven also entertained the idea that vandals, greenies, or anything but climate change might have set the country on fire.

If there is a posterity to judge them, it will damn them all.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10706481 (190922ZSEP20) Notable: Prince Andrew under immense pressure after Jeffrey Epstein's chef, Adam Perry Lang speaks to FBI, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Prince_Andrew_with_Ghislaine_Maxwell_who_stands_accused_of_being_Jeffrey_Epstein_s_pimp_.jpg, Perry_Lang_right_is_fully_cooperating_with_the_FBI.jpg, Virginia_Giuffre_claims_Epstein_forced_her_to_have_sex_with_Prince_Andrew_although_the_Duke_of_York_denies_her_allegations.jpg, Epstein_pictured_with_Maxwell_who_has_denied_the_charges_against_her.jpg

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Prince Andrew under immense pressure after Jeffrey Epstein's chef speaks to FBI

EXCLUSIVE: Jeffrey Epstein's former chef Adam Perry Lang catered for Prince Andrew and also flew alongside him on the billionaire financier's private jet on two occasions

Prince Andrew is under intense pressure to speak to US investigators after his paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein’s chef began “fully cooperating” with the FBI.

Adam Perry Lang, who opened the Barbecoa restaurant with Jamie Oliver in London in 2010, is being quizzed about the time he worked for depraved billionaire Epstein, from 1999 to 2003.

Lawyers for Epstein’s victims welcomed Perry Lang’s cooperation. Attorney Arick Fudali said: “We certainly hope that this may inspire other witnesses to come forward and help shed some light on Epstein’s dark scheme.”

American Perry Lang, 52, not only catered for the Duke of York, 60, but flew alongside him on board Epstein’s private jet.

According to court documents, he joined Andrew on two flights in February 1999 and one in May the next year.

Sources told the Mirror Perry Lang “has been or will be” quizzed about his time with Andrew as US prosecutors have “grown increasingly annoyed” at being stonewalled by the royal.

A source said: “The gloves are firmly off. Perry Lang holds information on what took place.

“They will get as much detail as possible that will help shape any interview they may one day have with the Duke.”

Perry Lang volunteered himself to the FBI after Virginia Giuffre, 37, who claims Epstein forced her to have sex with Andrew on three occasions, wrote to him, saying: “Please don’t be an enabler. Be a hero to me.”

The Duke and his legal team vehemently deny her allegations.

Perry Lang’s lawyer, Lawrence Lustberg, confirmed the chef was helping the FBI, who arrested Epstein’s ex Ghislaine Maxwell, 58, on suspicion of child sex offences in July. She denies the charges and faces trial in New York next July.

Mr Lustberg said: “Mr Lang has begun a course of fully cooperating with the federal authorities investigating this case. He, like them and like the victims, wants only that justice be done.”

The chef himself added: “We have absolutely always been available to the attorneys for the lawyers representing victims.”

Perry Lang said previously of Epstein: “I was unaware of the depraved behaviour and have great admiration for the brave women who have come forward.”

Several victims of Epstein have described Perry Lang as a decent man. Giuffre said: “He used to talk to me like I was a person.”

Epstein, 66, committed suicide last year while in jail awaiting trial for underage sex trafficking.

A spokeswoman for Prince Andrew declined to comment.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/prince-andrew-under-immense-pressure-22707068

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10715840 (200205ZSEP20) Notable: Coronavirus Australia: Victorian Chief Health Officer slams COVID-19 conspiracies, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Dr_Brett_Sutton_has_lashed_out_at_conspiracy_theorists.jpg, Victoria_s_Chief_Health_Officer_Brett_Sutton_labels_virus_conspiracy_theories_absurd_.jpg

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Coronavirus Australia: Victorian Chief Health Officer slams COVID-19 conspiracies

Victoria’s top doctor has slammed virus conspiracists, taking aim at those who believe “coronavirus doesn’t exist and doesn’t kill people”.

Victorian Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton has smacked down common and “absurd” coronavirus conspiracy theories that are circulating in the community.

Fronting the media on Saturday morning, Dr Sutton said the most aggravating conspiracy was that “coronavirus doesn’t exist and doesn’t kill people”.

“That is just off the scale in terms of absurdity,” he said.

“The idea that this illness that we know kills one in three people over the age of 80, you know, to say that it is mild or just the flu or doesn’t exist at all is really offensive to everyone who has lost a loved one.”

But despite the widespread misinformation, Dr Sutton said he believes the overall health message is sinking in.

Meanwhile, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews also took aim at “selfish” anti-lockdown protesters in today’s media conference, telling participants to “go home” and insisting the coronavirus fight was “a human life exercise” and not about civil rights and civil liberties.

He said those taking part in rallies were putting lives at risk along with jeopardising to roadmap our of lockdown.

“I would have thought that the … primary concern at the moment amongst the Victorian community is to get these numbers down and keep them down,” he said.

“Go home and follow the rules. That is a very simple message. There is no need to protest about anything … it is not safe.

“It just doesn’t make any sense. You are potentially putting the strategy at risk. No-one should be doing anything to contribute to the spread of this virus.

“Victoria Police are not mucking about and they will deal with these people because it is a selfish act, it is an irresponsible and unlawful act.”

Mr Andrews also stood by the controversial decision not to fine members of five families behind Melbourne’s Casey cluster, which is believed to have occurred after family members broke virus rules to visit each other.

While he acknowledged the decision might not be supported by everyone, the information provided by those involved in the cluster was far more valuable than fines would be and that if fines were threatened, it may stop people from being “full and frank” in interviews.

The comments come as case numbers continue to fall in Victoria, with just 21 new coronavirus cases confirmed overnight in the state.

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/coronavirus-australia-victorian-chief-health-officer-slams-covid19-conspiracies/news-story/a771756c188d152ca36e5d73ca9a3981

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10723064 (201846ZSEP20) Notable: US election headed for chaos and courts — what price President Pelosi? - Joe Hockey - theaustralian.com.au, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: If_there_is_no_clear_winner_by_noon_on_January_20_then_the_1947_Presidential_Succession_Act_kicks_in_and_Nancy_Pelosi_at_80_years_of_age_becomes_president.jpg

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US election headed for chaos and courts — what price President Pelosi?

JOE HOCKEY - SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

1/2

What are the odds of Nancy Pelosi being sworn in as president on the steps of the Capitol on January 20? Not as remote as you may think.

Last week voting for the next president started in seven US states – two weeks before the first presidential debate that will be watched by almost 100 million Americans.

It is the beginning of the most complicated national election in the world, one almost certain to have no final result on election day, November 3.

The already confusing voting system across the US is slower and more open to manipulation than ever. On top of the political bias involved in its logistics, foreign interference is inevitable particularly in the days after November 3 when social media will be inundated with accusations, innuendo and outright deceit designed to undermine the integrity of the result.

It will be hard to avoid controversy no matter who wins. You can bet your house that the losers in this race will not take defeat graciously.

Already, both major parties are allocating more money to lawyers for the pre and post-election legal battles than they are spending on the campaign in a number of states.

It is certainly conceivable that the famous legal battle over hanging chads that decided the 2000 Bush-Gore election in Florida will be superseded by new types of litigation in perhaps 12 states if the result is close.

All the problems start with the more than 10,000 election authorities that are responsible for the rules of the presidential ballot.

Every jurisdiction seems to have authority for setting the rules — except for the US government that is being elected. The US Senate even shot down limited federal powers, under the 1965 Voting Rights Act to protect minority communities, earlier this year. In a nutshell that means there are different rules on how, where and when you can vote.

Take the case of our everyday voter, Mary Milwaukee. If Mary lives in Reno, Nevada she’ll receive a postal ballot paper in the next few weeks even if she never applied for it. Moreover, according to the US Postal Service, 223,000 ballot papers will go to the wrong homes in Nevada because people moved and forgot to change their address. No risk of ballot fraud here, right? And Nevada is a swing state.

If Mary lived in Jackson, Mississippi, she would have to register to vote no later than 29 days before poll day, and if she were born outside the US, would have to prove her naturalisation. After registering, she could apply for a postal ballot paper only if she had a good excuse. One justification for a postal ballot is if Mary contracted COVID-19. However, if she contracts it less than a week out from the election, unless she soldiers down to the ballot box on November 3, her vote won’t count.

But let’s say Mary does live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has not made up her mind until the eve of the election. Mary is allowed to cast a vote only at her local polling booth. She is unable to vote further down the road or across the country. And if Mary does get to vote after she finishes her working shift at Walmart, the queue to vote could be three hours long or worse. She had better rug up because the outside temperature is about 4C that time of year.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10729349 (210608ZSEP20) Notable: Six fined, two arrested over Chadstone anti-lockdown flash mob, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Police_patrolled_Chadstone_Shopping_Centre_on_Sunday_in_search_of_anti_lockdown_protesters.jpg, Anti_lockdown_protesters_after_gathering_in_Elsternwick_Park_in_Melbourne.jpg, LM_1.jpg, AS_1.jpg, precursor_1.jpg

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Six fined, two arrested over Chadstone anti-lockdown flash mob

Samantha Dick - Sep 20, 2020

A bizarre anti-lockdown flash mob at Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne’s south-east quickly fizzled within minutes on Sunday.

About 50 demonstrators formed a makeshift choir outside Coles supermarket and sang You’re The Voice by John Farnham at 1pm.

But before they had a chance to belt out an encore, the group quickly dispersed over fear of being caught by police.

Five police Public Order Response vans arrived on the scene at 1.15pm, but by then most of the demonstrators had split up.

Victoria Police arrested two people and issued six fines to singers.

“It is only a very small number of people that still choose to put the rest of the community at risk through their selfish behaviour,” a police spokeswoman said.

“We will continue to take the same swift and firm action against those who choose to blatantly ignore the CHO directions.”

Victoria Police said it would continue investigating the people who attended the protest.

They’ve got the voice, but we don’t understand it

Speaking to the Herald Sun after the rally, one demonstrator accused the Victorian government of “protecting paedophiles and taking our rights away”.

His words echoed that of QAnon, a far-right group pushing conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and paedophile rings.

“Innocent people want to protest for freedom against our government – Black Lives Matter is OK, but it’s not OK when you want to speak up against the government,” the woman said.

“It’s disgusting. Our freedom of speech and human rights have been violated, so we’re going to stand up for Victoria.”

Another anti-lockdown supporter told the Herald Sun he wanted to “expose the lies that are going on and the trans-human agenda that’s coming next”.

On Saturday, Victoria Police arrested 16 people and issued 21 fines to anti-lockdown protesters in the Elsternwick area.

Punishment hypocrisy

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has been accused of hypocrisy for allowing anti-lockdown protesters to be fined, but not any of the people in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs who spread COVID-19 after illegally visiting other family members’ homes.

The group behind the outbreak, which has grown to 40 virus infections, is largely from the Afghan community in Casey. Two of those infected by the virus are in hospital.

Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien seized the opportunity to slam Labor for “double standards” that were “as toxic as this virus”.

“It’s a disgrace that Labor has locked up innocent Victorians under a curfew while those who break the law and spread the virus get off scot free,” he said.

“This is the same Andrews hypocrisy that saw teenagers fined for learning to drive while 10,000 Black Lives Matter protesters were ignored.”

However, on Sunday Mr Andrews defended his decision not to fine the families in Casey for breaching lockdown because it might stop them from being “full and frank” in crucial contact-tracing interviews.

“If people are going to get fined for telling the truth … well then, I think we know what happens,” he said.

“People won’t tell the truth, and we won’t know where they’ve been, who they’ve infected, and we won’t be able to pull up an outbreak at 40 [cases]. It’ll be hundreds.”

He said he was “frustrated that people were doing the wrong thing”, but said the “truth was worth everything”.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronavirus/2020/09/20/chadstone-lockdown-protest-coronavirus/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10729636 (210720ZSEP20) Notable: Senators Overlooked Radical Record of Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Phyllis Schlafly - August 23, 2005

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>>179530

Q Post #2653

Jan 6 2019 12:32:35 (EST)

[RBG]

Why was she 'selected'?

Who appointed her?

Remember [her] history.

Ref: 230-page book called Sex Bias in the U.S. Code, published in 1977 by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Highlights:

>Called for the sex-integration of prisons and reformatories so that conditions of imprisonment, security and housing could be equal. She explained, “If the grand design of such institutions is to prepare inmates for return to the community as persons equipped to benefit from and contribute to civil society, then perpetuation of single-sex institutions should be rejected.” (Page 101)

>Called for the sex-integration of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts because they “perpetuate stereotyped sex roles.” (Page 145)

>Insisted on sex-integrating “college fraternity and sorority chapters” and replacing them with “college social societies.” (Page 169)

>Cast constitutional doubt on the legality of “Mother’s Day and Father’s Day as separate holidays.” (Page 146)

>Called for reducing the age of consent for sexual acts to people who are “less than 12 years old.” (Page 102)

>Asserted that laws against “bigamists, persons cohabiting with more than one woman, and women cohabiting with a bigamist” are unconstitutional. (Page 195)

>Objected to laws against prostitution because “prostitution, as a consensual act between adults, is arguably within the zone of privacy protected by recent constitutional decisions.” (Page 97)

>Ginsburg wrote that the Mann Act (which punishes those who engage in interstate sex traffic of women and girls) is “offensive.” Such acts should be considered “within the zone of privacy.” (Page 98)

>Demanded that we “firmly reject draft or combat exemption for women,” stating “women must be subject to the draft if men are.” But, she added, “the need for affirmative action and for transition measures is particularly strong in the uniformed services.” (Page 218)

>An indefatigable censor, Ginsburg listed hundreds of “sexist” words that must be eliminated from all statutes. Among words she found offensive were: man, woman, manmade, mankind, husband, wife, mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter, serviceman, longshoreman, postmaster, watchman, seamanship, and “to man” (a vessel). (Pages 15-16)

>Wanted he, she, him, her, his, and hers to be dropped down the memory hole. They must be replaced by he/she, her/him, and hers/his, and federal statutes must use the bad grammar of “plural constructions to avoid third person singular pronouns.” (Page 52-53)

>Condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling in Harris v. McRae and claimed that taxpayer-funded abortions should be a constitutional right.

http://humanevents.com/2005/08/23/senators-overlooked-radical-record-of-ruth-bader-ginsburg/

Who are the doctors 'currently' treating [RBG]?

What other political [former/current] sr. political heads are they affiliated w/?

What 'off-market' drugs are being provided to [RBG] in order to sustain minimum daily function?

What is the real medical diagnosis of [RBG]?

Who is managing her care?

Who is 'really' managing her care?

The clock is ticking.

PANIC IN DC.

Q

https://qanon.pub/#2653

—

Senators Overlooked Radical Record of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

By Phyllis Schlafly on August 23, 2005

https://humanevents.com/2005/08/23/senators-overlooked-radical-record-of-ruth-bader-ginsburg/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10729744 (210753ZSEP20) Notable: Sex Bias in the U.S. Code: A Report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights - Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Key Excerpts from Q Post #2653

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>>179530

>>179531

Sex Bias in the U.S. Code - A Report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupid?key=olbp66290

https://www2.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/usccr/documents/cr12se9.pdf

—

>Called for the sex-integration of prisons and reformatories so that conditions of imprisonment, security and housing could be equal. She explained, “If the grand design of such institutions is to prepare inmates for return to the community as persons equipped to benefit from and contribute to civil society, then perpetuation of single-sex institutions should be rejected.” (Page 101)

>Called for the sex-integration of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts because they “perpetuate stereotyped sex roles.” (Page 145)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10729936 (210836ZSEP20) Notable: 'Shrouded in secrecy': ASD to be grilled over axed official history, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Professor_John_Blaxland_was_halfway_through_the_first_volume_of_the_ASD_s_official_history.jpg

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'Shrouded in secrecy': ASD to be grilled over axed official history

Australia's cyber spy agency will be grilled at a parliamentary hearing over its shock decision to cancel a contract with the Australian National University to write its official history.

The Australian Signals Directorate is in talks with the ANU about how much of the $2.2 million contract it will pay out after military historian John Blaxland worked for more than a year on the project.

The ASD's decision to sever ties with Professor Blaxland, revealed by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on Saturday, has embarrassed some senior members of the Morrison government who have been urging the agency to be more transparent.

The development comes at a sensitive time for the signals directorate, with the government looking to pass new laws giving the agency more powers to protect the nation's critical infrastructure from cyber attacks and help federal police go after serious criminals onshore.

Crossbench senator Rex Patrick said the cancelling of the contract without public explanation raised significant concerns including a lack of transparency and a waste of taxpayers' money.

Senator Patrick said the ASD "can expect to be grilled" by him at a Senate estimates hearing next month.

"How much public money has been spent under the contract since the work commenced? For what reason did ASD terminate the contract? What are the plans moving forward? These are just some of the questions that must be answered by ASD," Senator Patrick said.

"It is an organisation shrouded in secrecy, but this cannot apply in relation to public expenditure on and plans related to the writing of its history."

The decision has shocked colleagues of Professor Blaxland, a former intelligence officer with the Australian Defence Force who co-authored The Official History of ASIO.

In a press release in July last year, the ASD said the selection of Professor Blaxland came "after a rigorous tender process" and praised him as "one of Australia’s most experienced and respected military historians".

ASD director-general Rachel Noble, who took over in February this year, made the decision to cancel the contract, sources familiar with the decision confirmed.

Senior security sources said the ASD would still go ahead with an official history but wanted more control over the project. The ASD said the replacement process would take in the work already completed by Professor Balxland and his team.

Senator Patrick said the project would lack credibility if it was produced from within the organisation.

"An attempt to write a history from within will reasonably be met with significant concerns about bias and incompleteness. The words 'secret agency' and 'autobiography' should never be used in the same sentence, ever."

Under the contract, Professor Blaxland and emeritus professor David Horner were to write an exhaustive two-volume history of the agency from its establishment in the late 1940s, but it would not chronicle the last 20 years.

Professor Blaxland, who stepped down as the head of the ANU's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre to undertake the project, was about halfway through the first volume when he was told by the ASD in recent weeks the contract would be cancelled.

A spokesman for the ASD said it remained committed to delivering an account of its history in time for its 75th anniversary in 2022.

"ASD has commenced a replacement process, consistent with Commonwealth procurement guidelines. This process will leverage the existing work compiled under the ANU contract," the ASD spokesman said.

"As the contract was terminated early by mutual agreement, full payment was not made.

"It would not be appropriate to discuss final payments as these are subject to commercial settlement."

An ANU spokesman said the university "enjoys a productive and strong relationship with ASD and looks forward to continuing to work with the agency on this matter".

"Details of contracts are commercial in confidence and as such are not discussed publicly," the ANU spokesman said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/shrouded-in-secrecy-asd-to-be-grilled-over-axed-official-history-20200921-p55xkb.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10729992 (210856ZSEP20) Notable: Malka Leifer, alleged paedophile, should be extradited to Australia, Israeli court rules, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: DE_57.jpg, Malka_Leifer_is_wanted_in_Australia_on_74_charges_of_child_sex_abuse.jpg, Sisters_Elly_Sapper_Dassi_Erlich_and_Nicole_Meyer_say_they_were_abused_by_Malka_Leifer_when_she_was_their_headmistress_in_Melbourne.jpg

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Dassi Erlich Tweet

BREAKING NEWS

LEIFER WILL BE EXTRADITED TO AUSTRALIA!!

(appeal is expected)

A victory for justice!!

A victory for all survivors!!

Exhaling years of holding our breath!

We truly value every person standing with us in our refusal to remain silent!

Today our hearts are smiling!

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1307940167810834432

—

Malka Leifer, alleged paedophile, should be extradited to Australia, Israeli court rules

A court in Jerusalem has ruled the former principal of Melbourne's Adass Israel school, Malka Leifer, can be extradited to Australia to face 74 charges of sexual abuse.

Ms Leifer allegedly fled to her native Israel in 2008 when she learned three of her former students planned to file a complaint with police.

Australia lodged an extradition request in 2013 and she was arrested by Israeli police the following year.

The decision in the Jerusalem District Court comes after six years of legal wrangling and can be appealed to Israel's Supreme Court.

After that, the country's Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn must also sign the extradition order, something that can also be appealed.

The long-running battle over extradition

This was the 71st hearing over whether Malka Leifer should be sent to Australia.

Ms Leifer was mostly allowed to live under house arrest after her 2014 arrest.

Her lawyers told various extradition hearings that she could not go to Australia because she suffered from panic attacks and was too unwell to leave her home.

However, she was jailed in 2018 when private investigators obtained more than 200 hours of video showing Ms Leifer living normally in an orthodox Jewish settlement, shopping and socialising.

She has been examined more than 30 times by mental health experts, many of whom have declared her competent.

In January, an expert panel concluded not only that Ms Leifer was well, but that she had been perpetrating a "fraud" to avoid justice.

Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled earlier this month that Malka Leifer is mentally fit to stand trial on the charges she faces in Victoria.

Melbourne sisters say they were abused by authority figure

Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper grew up in the Adass Israel community, a Hasidic Jewish group in Melbourne's inner south.

They allege when they were teenagers, their headmistress Malka Leifer groomed and then abused them over several years.

The sisters say they did not realise they had all been abused until 2007 when Dassi Erlich spoke to a therapist, who encouraged her to come forward.

Ms Erlich described the ruling in the Jerusalem District Court as a "victory for all survivors".

"We truly value every person standing with us in our refusal to remain silent. Today our hearts are smiling," she wrote on Twitter.

Malka Leifer has denied the allegations against her.

But during a July hearing, her lawyer Nick Kaufman questioned whether some of the alleged abuse was a crime under Israeli law.

He said even if the allegations were true, two of the victims were no longer children at the time, and could have rebuffed the sexual advances.

"The fact that there was so much discussion around the issue of consent when it comes to sexual abuse was very disheartening that this is still happening in 2020 in the courts," Nicole Meyer said.

The case has strained relations between Israel and Australia.

In February, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Israel's President Reuven Rivlin that Australia had a strong desire to see justice in the long-running case.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-21/israeli-court-rules-on-malka-leifer-extradition/12684138

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10730478 (211054ZSEP20) Notable: Names of EVERY passenger on Jeffrey Epstein's aircraft to be revealed...'panic among the pedophile's wealthy friends', MISSING MEDIA/FILES: VRG_49.jpg, Jeffrey_Epstein_s_flight_logs_on_his_aircraft_including_his_Lolita_Express_jet_have_been_subpoenaed_sparking_fear_among_the_rich_and_famous_who_partied_with_the_pedophile.jpg, The_Attorney_General_in_the_US_Virgin_Islands_pictured_where_the_billionaire_had_a_home_and_is_said_to_have_carried_out_many_of_his_horrific_crimes_has_demanded_to_see_the_logs.jpg, The_subpoena_demands_the_names_and_details_of_anyone_who_worked_for_the_pilots_interacted_with_Epstein_and_passengers_who_travelled_with_him_on_the_infamous_Lolita_Express_pictured_.jpg, Prince_Andrew_is_pictured_checking_his_rear_view_mirror_as_he_drives_from_Windsor_Castle_on_Saturday.jpg

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Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweets

As I sit here in my office reading this article, my heart gave a shudder of excitement knowing how truly scared “They” all should be. #JeffreyEpstein #PANIC #PrinceAndrew #GhislaineMaxwell #ChildTrafficking

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1307975080421384194

Names of EVERY passenger to have flown on Jeffrey Epstein's aircraft 'to be revealed "sparking panic among the pedophile's wealthy friends"'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8754807/Names-passenger-Jeffrey-Epsteins-aircraft-revealed-sparking-panic.html

—

Not to mention that #Epstein main pilot #LarryVisowski lived it large up until his boss was dead. Larry was responsible for carrying 100’s if not 1000’s of underage minors across state borders and internationally. This is HUGE!Watch them scatter like cockroaches. #DarkToLight

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1307975083349037056

—

Names of EVERY passenger to have flown on Jeffrey Epstein's aircraft 'to be revealed "sparking panic among the pedophile's wealthy friends"'

Jeffrey Epstein's flight logs on his aircraft, including his 'Lolita Express' jet, have been subpoenaed, sparking fear among the rich and famous who partied with the pedophile.

The Attorney General in the US Virgin Islands, where the billionaire had a home and is said to have carried out many of his horrific crimes, has demanded to see the logs which document the passengers on his aircraft.

The logs on his four helicopters and three planes span from 1998 until his suicide in prison last year.

Attorney General Denise George has filed a lawsuit against his estate alleging 22 accounts including human trafficking, aggravated rape, child abuse, neglect, forced labour and prostitution, The Mirror reported.

Ms George is also requesting to see any 'complaints or reports of potentially suspicious conduct' as well as personal notes made by the pilots.

The subpoena demands the names and details of anyone who worked for the pilots, interacted with Epstein and passengers who travelled with him.

Pilot David Rodgers has previously revealed logs from 2009 which showed Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey and Naomi Campbell were among those who flew on his jet.

It is not suggested they were aware of any wrongdoing by Epstein.

A source said: 'The records that have been subpoenaed will make the ones Rodgers provided look like a Post-It note.

'There is panic among many of the rich and famous.'

Lawyers for the victims said the logs released in 2009 did not include the flights of chief pilot Larry Visoki who had flown Epstein for more than 25 years.

It comes as a celebrity chef has been quizzed by detectives 20 years after he worked for Epstein - prompting renewed calls for Prince Andrew to speak to the FBI.

Adam Perry Lang, 51, opened the Barbecoa restaurant with Jamie Oliver in London in 2010 - and worked for Jeffrey Epstein between 1999 and 2003.

He is now 'fully cooperating' with the FBI investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by depraved billionaire Epstein, reported the Daily Mirror.

Attorney Arick Fudali, representing the victims, heaped pressure on Prince Andrew - who has been accused of stonewalling detectives.

Mr Fudali said: 'We certainly hope that this may inspire other witnesses to come forward and help shed some light on Epstein's dark scheme.'

American Mr Perry Lang catered for the Duke of York, 60, and flew with him in a private jet on two occasions - once in February 1999 and in May 2000.

Sources told the newspaper: 'Perry Lang holds information on what took place. They will get as much detail as possible that will shape any interview they may one day have with the duke.'

Mr Perry Lang, who has been described as a decent man by victims, came forward after Virginia Giuffre, 37, wrote to ask him to be the 'hero'.

His lawyer Lawrence Lustberg confirmed the chef was helping the FBI. Mr Perry Lang himself added: 'We have absolutely always been available to the attorneys representing the victims.'

He previously denied being aware of any 'depraved behaviour' during his four-year term as Epstein's chef.

Epstein, 66, killed himself while awaiting trial in a cell for underage sex trafficking last year.

Last month, Virginia Giuffre claimed Prince Andrew played a 'guessing game,' with British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell about her age before comparing her to his daughters.

The accuser spoke out in a documentary series, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, claiming she met the royal in London, describing him as an 'abuser,' and 'not the prince from the fairy tale stories you read'.

(continued)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8754807/Names-passenger-Jeffrey-Epsteins-aircraft-revealed-sparking-panic.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10738679 (220208ZSEP20) Notable: TikTok says it won’t spy on Australians or block content on Chinese orders, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: TikTok_has_called_out_misinformation_about_its_operations.jpg, Donald_Trump_wants_to_clamp_down_on_TikTok.jpg, TikTok_has_more_than_800_million_global_users.jpg

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TikTok says it won’t spy on Australians or block content on Chinese orders

1/2

TikTok has denied it would take instruction from the Chinese government to hand over Australians’ data or censor their content, as it prepares to front a federal Senate committee into foreign interference through social media.

“The entire industry has received scrutiny, and rightly so. Yet, we have received even more scrutiny due to the company’s origins,” TikTok’s Australian general manager Lee Hunter said in a submission to Parliament.

The wildly popular video app has come under intense scrutiny in Australia and the United States over claims of censorship and security.

Owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance, it counts some 1.6 million Australians among more than 800 million global users, but has faced questions over alleged data harvesting and links to the Chinese government.

US President Donald Trump wants to all but ban the app, forcing its parent company to sell off its international operations for it to continue operating in America.

Federal Coalition politicians have also taken aim at the social media platform, with Jim Molan calling it “a data collection service disguised as social media”, and George Christensen saying it should be banned.

Mr Hunter and other senior TikTok employees are set to give evidence before the Senate’s Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media on Friday.

Before the hearing, and after the company launched an advertising blitz claiming the company was being unfairly targeted, Mr Hunter complained that TikTok had copped more scrutiny than other social media apps because of its links to China.

“Whilst we don’t want TikTok to be a political football, we accept this scrutiny and embrace the challenge of giving peace of mind by providing even more transparency and accountability,” he wrote in a submission to the committee.

Mr Hunter said TikTok did not accept paid political advertising – unlike platforms like Facebook – and sought to distance the company from the Chinese government, claiming there had been “misinformation” spread about its dealings.

“The personal data we collect from Australian users is stored on servers located in the United States and Singapore. We have strict controls around security and data access,” he said.

“TikTok has never shared Australian user data with the Chinese government, nor censored Australian content at its request.”

Further, he claimed any request from China for Australian user data would have to be approved by the federal government, under the mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) process between the two countries.

“The Chinese government or law enforcement would need to send the evidence disclosure request through the relevant MLAT process,” Mr Hunter said.

“To date, we have not received any MLAT requests in respect of Australian user data, nor have we received requests to censor Australian content from, the Chinese government.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10738722 (220213ZSEP20) Notable: PDF: Parliament of Australia - Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media - Submissions - TikTok Australia

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>>>/qresearch/10738701

Clearnet jpg / pdf test

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10739389 (220315ZSEP20) Notable: BROKEN: Seeking Justice Podcast - The Enablers - Virginia Roberts Guiffre wants Jeffrey Epstein's staff to speak up, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Twsited_Jeffrey_Epstein_and_his_alleged_madame_Ghislaine_Maxwell.jpg, Virginia_Giuffre_claims_her_diet_was_closely_monitored_by_warped_Epstein.jpg, Giuffre_says_she_was_recruited_by_Epstein_as_a_17_year_old.jpg, Chef_Perry_Lang_has_denied_seeing_any_sexual_activity_or_nudity.jpg

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FORCED TO STARVE Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sex slaves ice tea and fruit to keep them ‘prepubescent-thin’, Virginia Giuffre reveals

CONTROLLING Jeffrey Epstein fed girls fruit platters while they paraded naked around his mansion, it's been claimed.

The twisted paedophile is said to have kept an eye on the diets of his "victims" as he wanted them to look skinny and "prepubescent."

Epstein "sex slave" Virginia Giuffre also claims Ghislaine Maxwell monitored what they were eating.

The Brit socialite has been accused of being Epstein's so-called madam although she denies the claim.

She is awaiting trial for her alleged role in his sex trafficking operation but has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.

Giuffre - also known as Virginia Roberts - told the 'Broken: Seeking Justice' podcast: "We would lay out completely naked... Jeffrey did not like tan lines.

"He wanted tanned bodies, petite bodies, prepubescent bodies.

"Jeffrey had us on these ridiculous diets. It was all organic... It was never like carbs, you can't just fill up, they wanted you to look a specific way."

Giuffre went onto claim Epstein's girls were given iced tea and fed fruit platters leaving them feeling "starving."

She also alleged Epstein's former chef Adam Perry Lang saw her and other girls walking around naked.

However, Lang told the podcast he never saw sexual activity or nudity and was not aware of any depraved acts committed by Epstein.

There is absolutely no suggestion of wrongdoing by Lang.

The chef reportedly volunteered himself to the FBI after Giuffre, 37, pleaded with him: “Please don’t be an enabler. Be a hero to me.”

His lawyer, Lawrence Lustberg, confirmed he was now working to help the FBI with their investigation into Epstein - who killed himself in his New York jail cell.

A lawyer for Lang told the Daily Beast: "We have absolutely always been available to the attorneys for the lawyers representing the victims — indeed, we reached out and spoke to one of them many months ago.

"Although we invited a meeting with Adam in no uncertain terms, those attorneys have literally never gotten back to us (although we did hear from other counsel this week).

"That said, we are in current contact with the federal prosecutors in the Southern District of NY and are fully cooperating with their investigation and remain more than happy to, in coordination with the prosecutors, cooperate with counsel for the victims as well."

Last week, we reported how an insider told how Epstein spent an hour every day watching videos of naked teens "for inspiration" on his paedophile island.

The billionaire sex fiend ogled explicit episodes of Girls Gone Wild while pedalling on an exercise bike on private Caribbean isle Little St James - where he raped victims as young as 12.

Epstein - who reportedly demanded sex three times a day - was said to have been "transfixed" by the videos of college girls flashing their breasts in nightclubs.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12728807/epstein-maxwell-sex-slaves-fruit-prepubescent-thin/

—

BROKEN: Seeking Justice

Investigative Reporter Julie K. Brown exposed Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes to the world. Now his survivors are fighting for the truth. This season, host Tara Palmeri follows the women who are making their own justice.

The Enablers

There was a whole world of people around Jeffrey Epstein—his staff. Virginia Roberts Guiffre wants them to speak up.

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-enablers/id1478460758

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10739647 (220343ZSEP20) Notable: Australian judge James Spigelman resigns from Hong Kong court - no further reasons for the termination were given, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Australian_judge_James_Spigelman_is_also_a_former_chairman_of_the_ABC.jpg

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Resignations in the news

Australian judge James Spigelman resigns from Hong Kong court

Australian judge James Spigelman has resigned from Hong Kong's top court months after Beijing tightened restrictions on the legal system and imposed new national security laws on the former British colony.

Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam said in a government gazette published on Friday that she had "revoked the appointment" of Spigelman.

A Hong Kong government spokeswoman confirmed Spigelman had tendered his resignation on September 2, but no further reasons for the termination were given.

The former ABC chairman has been contacted for comment through the Lowy Institute where he is a board member.

The 74-year-old has served on Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal since April 2013 as a non-permanent judge. The former lieutenant-governor of NSW was one of four judges from Australia on the court, which was established after the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China, to continue the British common-law system. There are also nine British judges and one Canadian judge on the court.

Former Australian High Court chief justices Murray Gleeson and Robert French along with former High Court judge William Gummow have not had their appointments publicly revoked.

The court has never had jurisdiction over acts of state, such as defence and foreign affairs, but the imposition of the new national security laws by Beijing in July raised questions about its future. The laws prevent, curb and punish dissent, threats to the Chinese state, pro-democracy or independence sentiment. They have been condemned by the Australian, British and US governments.

British MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the future of Commonwealth judges on the court needed to be examined.

"That is the question – to what degree will these independent judges just give cover to what is a totalitarian regime," he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

The former leader of the Conservative Party said the current situation was "exposing decent people to intolerable structures" that do not exist in the UK or Australia where the judiciary "are free to reach decisions without fear or favour".

"This is not the case in Hong Kong," he said. "I think this is a question that now needs to be dealt with."

The Chinese government maintains the laws are necessary to restore law and order after more than 15 months of protests over Beijing's influence in the territory.

The former chief justice of NSW has never spoken publicly about the Hong Kong protests or the new national security laws, which give courts the power to hear trials in secret and send dissidents to the mainland China for prosecution.

Spigelman, who was born in Poland to Jewish parents that survived the Holocaust, was vocal about his belief in social justice in interviews with the Law Society of Hong Kong in 2016.

"I always understood the importance of social tolerance in the community," he said, adding his background made him "particularly sympathetic to groups who suffer discrimination or are otherwise oppressed".

He also defended the principles of open justice as "the foundation of judicial accountability", arguing it was "essential to maintain public confidence in the judiciary and the administration of justice".

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/australian-judge-kicked-off-hong-kong-court-20200918-p55x0p.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10740241 (220510ZSEP20) Notable: Assange's fiancee asks Scott Morrison to guarantee family's safety, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Stella_Morris_with_her_kids_Max_18_months_and_Gabriel_3_in_London.jpg, Julian_Assange_centre_with_Stella_Morris_right_and_his_Ecuadorian_counsel_Carlos_Poveda_left_in_an_undated_picture_supplied_by_WikiLeaks.jpg, Stella_Morris_wants_Prime_Minister_Scott_Morrison_to_guarantee_the_Assanges_would_be_safe_in_Australia.jpg

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Assange's fiancee asks Scott Morrison to guarantee family's safety

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London: The mother of Julian Assange's children is seeking Australian citizenship for their sons and has called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to promise the family would be safe to live in Australia if the WikiLeaks founder escapes being extradited to the United States.

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Stella Morris said she would love to live in Australia but only if the family's safety was guaranteed.

Morris said she planned to wed Assange by Christmas outside Belmarsh Prison on London's outskirts, where the 49-year-old is in remand while he fights his extradition to the US.

The WikiLeaks founder is resisting an application to send him to the US to answer an 18-count American indictment. Assange has been formally rearrested on a new US indictment, which updates and broadens previous charges. All but one are for violations of the country’s Espionage Act.

The pair began a relationship inside the Ecuadorian embassy in 2015, four years after they first met. Assange had been living in the embassy since 2012 after seeking refuge to avoid arrest and extradition to Sweden.

At the time, the South African-born Morris had joined his legal team to help fight his extradition to Sweden, where he was accused of sexual assault. Swedish authorities dropped the investigation in 2019.

The pair had two children — Gabriel, 3, and Max, 18 months — keeping their relationship and family a secret from the outside world until earlier this year.

Morris said she and Assange had thought having a family together would be impossible but began dreaming of the idea and finally pursuing it after former US president Barack Obama pardoned Chelsea Manning, the former soldier and whistleblower who was convicted of espionage.

"The trajectory was that he [Julian] would be free and also the Department of Justice had announced that it would not prosecute him for the Manning disclosures," she said.

"It was a rational decision, I was 33 at the time and I knew I wanted children and it was faith in our love for each other and the certainty, a feeling that this was right."

But while the children speak to Assange daily, they have never known life with their father at home.

Morris knows there is now the possibility her sons will not see their father again. They last saw him in prison about a month ago, the first time since March.

"I tell my kids that Julian’s a hero and I make him very present, we watch videos of him, they’ve been to the prison."

"I don’t want Julian to become a martyr. We’re a family, he’s not a symbol to us. He’s part of ... he’s Daddy. So I just tell them that Daddy’s coming home."

The family's hopes of a life together plummeted on April 11 last year, when Assange was sensationally arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge, after his hosts of seven years terminated his political asylum.

British police were invited into the embassy to arrest him for skipping bail in 2012 when he first sought asylum.

The images of Assange being dragged out of the Knightsbridge enclave looking years older with an overgrown straggly grey beard, moustache and long hair, shocked the world.

"He had wanted to shave for days," Morris recounts. Assange, knowing his time inside his diplomatic fortress was coming to an end, had requested a razor to shave and asked for a hairdresser but his hosts denied both pleas.

"He was aware that if he came out soon, he wanted to look good because he knew he would be dragged into court and people would see him.

"He's very unhappy that that is how the world saw him for the first time in many months," she says.

Denying Assange the chance of some personal grooming before he was dragged out was a reflection of how the relationship between guest and hosts had broken down.

Soon after Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno evicted the embassy's rent-free tenant he told the BBC the Australian had become unmanageable, even smearing his own faeces on the walls in the time leading up to his arrest.

"It never happened," Morris says of the claim. "It’s outrageous what Ecuador put out and the whole faeces story is an absolute lie."

"It's the most predictable and nasty, dirty, smear – literally a smear."

The Ecuadorian embassy in London refused to comment. No video evidence to back the claim has ever been provided, despite Assange's quarters being under video surveillance.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10740978 (220711ZSEP20) Notable: ASIO's case load jumps as pandemic fuels far-right extremism, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: ASIO_s_Heather_Cook_revealed_right_wing_extremism_is_taking_up_an_increasing_percentage_of_its_caseload.jpg

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ASIO's case load jumps as pandemic fuels far-right extremism

Violent right-wing extremists are increasingly catching the attention of Australia's domestic spy agency, with the threat now accounting for about a third of its counter-terrorism cases.

The Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation has also revealed it is looking "very closely" at listing right-wing extremist groups on Australia's terror register after the significant jump in its caseload over the past four years.

The coronavirus pandemic has also fuelled far-right extremism, with more extremists finding each other online amid anti-government sentiments in response to lockdowns.

Appearing before a parliamentary inquiry on Tuesday, ASIO Deputy Director-General Heather Cook confirmed right-wing violent extremism now accounted for between 30 and 40 per cent of its current caseload in counter-terrorism work. This compared to between 10 and 15 per cent prior to 2016.

"There's always a combination of factors which contribute to an attraction to a particular ideology at a particular point in time," she said.

"Some of the circumstances of COVID have contributed to an increase in radicalisation, in particular because of the amount of time individuals are spending in isolation or working from home or not in school I suppose, working remotely, the amount of time individuals are spending online.

"I think it [the pandemic] also makes it much easier to be finding like-minded individuals, there is a much wider variety of what I would call chat groups or areas where individuals with these views can coalesce and discuss and I guess promote these views more widely."

Ms Cook said anti-government sentiment being expressed around the world in response to lockdowns and other public health measures was "amplifying some of the extreme views", while speculation about the origins of COVID-19 was fuelling racist views.

She said the way in which extreme right-wing extremists were using the internet to recruit the "young and vulnerable" was similar to the methods deployed by Islamic State at its peak, adding the strategy was being used "to good effect".

But Ms Cook cautioned there was a "significant leap" from holding extreme right-wing views to wanting to carry out violence and some of the ASIO investigations find the person does not intend to commit violent acts.

"I don't think it would be accurate to say that everybody ASIO is currently looking at is about to carry out a terrorist attack," she told the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

Australia is now the only member of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership without any far-right extremist individuals or groups on its terror list after New Zealand last month put the Christchurch mosque killer on its register.

Labor has been calling for a review of Australia's proscribed list of terrorist organisations to ascertain whether right-wing groups should be on the register.

Ms Cook said ASIO was "always evaluating whether or not groups meet those thresholds for proscription".

She said there was difficulty in defining right-wing extremists as a group because they often acted as a "loose coalition of like-minded individuals talking to each other and plotting".

"We are definitely looking at what our partners overseas are doing, but again circumstances are always different," she said.

ASIO has been on alert for extremists who could have been inspired by the Christchurch mosque killer and other massacres overseas, as small far-right cells across the country are becoming more organised and sophisticated than ever before.

The concern is being heightened by extreme right-wing groups increasingly attracting people from a military background who know how to use weapons, as well as a younger membership who aren't displaying obvious signs of their extremism.

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/asio-s-case-load-jumps-as-pandemic-fuels-far-right-extremism-20200922-p55y4d.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10752613 (230606ZSEP20) Notable: US involved in major Bathurst granny flat raid over alleged international drug and firearm crimes, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: The_36_year_old_male_resident_was_served_with_firearms_and_weapons_prohibition_orders_before_being_arrested_and_taken_to_Bathurst_Police_Station.jpg, Investigators_allegedly_uncovered_a_suspicious_substance_inside_the_home_and_assistance_was_requested_from_Fire_and_Rescue_NSW_s_HAZMAT_to_render_the_area_safe.jpg, An_Australian_Border_Force_agent_walks_into_a_garage_at_the_Bathurst_address.jpg, An_official_with_US_Homeland_Security_is_pictured_NSW_Police_and_Australian_Border_Force_officers_as_a_search_warrant_was_executed_on_the_property.jpg, New_South_Wales_Police_Force_Australian_Border_Force_and_United_States_Homeland_Security_all_worked_together_on_the_investigation_which_began_in_August.jpg

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US involved in major Bathurst granny flat raid over alleged international drug and firearm crimes

A major NSW police operation involving US Homeland Security hit a granny flat in Bathurst today, with a man arrested over alleged international firearm and drug crimes.

Teams from multiple agencies searched the home on Violet and Prospect Streets, and a specialist Hazmat unit was called in after police said a "suspicious substance" was found inside.

The alleged suspicious substance was approximately one litre of an unspecified drug-related chemical, police said, which began to mysteriously crystallise during the search.

Both homes either side of the property were evacuated, and a 50-metre exclusion zone was set up.

The man, aged 36, was known to NSW police and will face a lengthy prison sentence, if convicted.

Last month police received information over the alleged importation of firearm parts and drug manufacturing equipment into Australia from the US, Hong Kong, China, Germany and Japan.

Those items allegedly included trigger mechanisms and gun barrels. The ABF alleged at least 10 importations had been tracked coming into Australia.

Bathurst police commander Peter O'Brien said information had initially been flagged up by "various intelligence sources" around the world.

NSW Police footage of the raid showed authorities speaking to the arrested man, who wore dark sunglasses, a gold watch and a gold chain.

Australian Border Force Inspector Tony Wheatley did not rule out the suspect and raid could be connected to a wider criminal syndicate.

"The bulk of the imports have come through air cargo or our international mail stream," he alleged.

The investigation, which began in August, was conducted by NSW Police in tandem with Australian Border Force and US Homeland Security.

Inspector Wheatley called it a "fantastic example" of joint agency work.

"This goes to show the power of a global focus on illegal firearms."

NSW Police Detective Inspector Rob Bevern, with Western Region Enforcement Squad, said a hazmat unit was called soon after police executed a warrant.

"Officers located a suspicious liquid in a container that had started to crystallise."

Specialist officers from the Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit and the Drug and Firearms Squad's Chemical Operations Unit were called out to examine the substance.

Detective Inspector Bevern said it was "not unusual" for US agencies to in Australia and be part of the raid.

The man was served with firearms and weapons prohibition orders before he was arrested and taken to Bathurst Police Station, where he is expected to be charged.

The ABF said a charge on the firearms offences alone would carry at least a 10 year sentence.

By mid-afternoon, roads around the property remained closed.

The operation is ongoing.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/bathurst-police-operation-us-homeland-security-alleged-illegal-firearm-and-drug-arrest/7dd9103c-3fd5-41e3-80ef-14923c6e3f2a

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10752687 (230619ZSEP20) Notable: Depressed Julian Assange ‘at risk of suicide’, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: WikiLeaks_founder_Julian_Assange_was_allegedly_removed_from_the_Ecuadorean_embassy_on_the_direct_orders_of_Donald_Trump.jpg

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Depressed Julian Assange ‘at risk of suicide’

Julian Assange has made preparations to end his life, including writing letters to family and friends and writing a will. He has also been visited by a Catholic priest for absolution, the Old ­Bailey heard on Tuesday.

The WikiLeaks founder, contesting his extradition to the US, was also involved in “a recent incident’’ at Belmarsh prison that caused concern.

Assange has told medical staff of two other incidents in the jail, such as being found with a razor blade hidden in a pile of underwear for which he was punished with four days’ solitary confinement, and claimed that on ­another occasion he was found with cords, but this evidence is contested.

Neuropsychiatrist Michael Kopelman, who has visited Assange on 20 occasions during his time in Belmarsh prison, gave in-depth details of his medical conditions and history, saying the detail of his testimony would cause Assange “some embarrassment’’ as he only reluctantly revealed his medical conditions to others.

Professor Kopelman said Assange was at a high risk of suicide because he had severe clinical depression and psychotic symptoms, including hallucinations.

Another medical expert has diagnosed Assange as having ­Asperger’s.

Professor Kopelman said if Assange were extradited, “my prediction is that he will deteriorate substantially, have a particularly severe depression, suicidal ideas and severe psychological suffering and harm’’.

He said depression, which carries a suicide risk, in addition to his Asperger’s diagnosis and the situation in which he would find himself, were only part of a long list of risks and he could not make a mathematical prediction of the risk.

“All I can do is note there are an abundance of known risk factors in Mr Assange’s case,’’ he said.

He added: “Confronted with imminent or actual extradition in this context, it remains my view that Mr Assange will act upon his suicidal impulse, driven by his psychiatric disorders.

“I say that the risk is ‘very high’ because of the reported high rates of suicide in US single-cell, segregated facilities; because of the abundance of risk factors in Mr Assange’s case; because of the intensity of his suicidal preoccupation, and the extent of his planning and preparation; and also because of his acute awareness of the prospect he faces.’’

Professor Kopelman said of the latest prison incident: “It doesn’t take me by surprise in light of everything I have said.’’

Assange’s psychiatric history includes hospitalisation in Melbourne for a week when he was in his 20s and treatment for depression between 1994-95 and 2003 and 2005.

Professor Kopelman said when Assange was in the Ecuador embassy in London, there was a deterioration in his depressive state, and in 2019 he was severely depressed. He said his condition improved at the beginning of this year where he was moderately depressed, but then deteriorated again during lockdown.

Assange, 49, had a genetic predisposition to clinical depression as two members of his family had killed themselves, he said.

James Lewis, the US prosecutor, said Professor Kopelman’s opinion was premised upon speculation as to variables such as the length of sentence that Assange would receive and the conditions of his detention, which might or might not eventuate.

In cross-examination, the court heard Assange regularly read the British Medical Journal and didn’t want to see a psychiatrist until after he had discussed it with his legal team.

Assange is contesting extradition to the US, where he faces 18 spying charges.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/depressed-julian-assange-at-risk-of-suicide/news-story/8896a270e3f3b3443d1e0abd2a165255

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10752700 (230622ZSEP20) Notable: Assange extradition: Key medical witness ‘failed in duty to court’, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Stella_Moris_Julian_Assange_s_partner_outside_the_Old_Bailey.jpg

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>>179550

Assange extradition: Key medical witness ‘failed in duty to court’

A key medical witness for Julian Assange has admitted “not doing his duty to the court’’ when he omitted information about Mr Assange’s partner Stella Moris and their children and the impact this may have on his mental state, the Old Bailey has heard.

Professor Michael Kopelman, a neuroscientist who has observed and treated Mr Assange since May 30, 2019, said instead of assisting the court he was “trying to be diplomatic’’ by not mentioning Ms Moris in his first written testimony to the court.

Prof Kopelman said he had consulted with Mr Assange’s legal team and decided not to put details about Ms Moris and the two young children she had with Mr Assange because it wasn’t in the public domain when he wrote the court report and ‘’she was very concerned about privacy so we decided not to put it in’’. He added that when Ms Moris went public about her relationship he submitted a second report.

However the US prosecutors said that all Prof Kopelman said in that report was that Mr Assange began a close relationship with a woman, this woman remained very supportive and helped his morale; she has two children.

James Lewis, for the US prosecutors said: “It’s astonishing … you didn’t lead with that she was his partner and mother of his two children.’’ He said the judge might not have known about Ms Moris’ relationship with Mr Assange and Prof Kopelman’s duty as an expert witness to the court overrode any embarrassment or vow of confidentiality to Mr Assange. Prof Kopelman replied: “I didn’t do my duty to the court, I was trying to be diplomatic.’’

Mr Lewis suggested such family factors would be relevant to a diagnosis and assessment of suicide risk.

Ms Moris went public about her relationship with Mr Assange and their two children, Gabriel, three and Max, 18 months, in April this year. At the time Ms Moris was supporting a bail application during a peak in the coronavirus pandemic when said she feared Mr Assange could die and their lives were on the brink. The couple started their relationship inside the Ecuadorean embassy in 2015 where Ms Moris, 37, was on his legal team.

During cross examination Prof Kopelman said there was only one medical diagnosis of Mr Assange’s depressive episodes because most medical records had been destroyed in Victoria, Australia under a seven year rule. Instead he relied on interviews with Mr Assange’s parents and a former colleague, Suelette Dreyfus, as well as a doctor colleague known as Professor Mullen.

Prof Kopelman said he had not meant to deceive anybody when his report referred to Ms Dreyfus as a “doctor’’ and that she had confirmed a diagnosis of depression, even though she had not met him until two years after his first depressive episode.

“When I said she confirmed, I meant she was consistent with what he and others had told me; she corroborated. I did not intend to imply she was a medical doctor who confirmed medical depression. She was friends with Assange when he was 23, a couple of years after the first depression,’’ he said.

Both the prosecution and the defence have asked the court not to release Prof Kopelman’s written court testimonies to the media, which is being contested by media representatives.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/assange-extradition-key-medical-witness-failed-in-duty-to-court/news-story/45bb5633c7a6c4a258fb0d425c18f5eb

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10752790 (230641ZSEP20) Notable: Malka Leifer extradition promise ‘illegal’, claims defence, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Israeli_Prime_Minister_Benjamin_Netanyahu_centre_with_a_delegation_of_ex_Australian_ministers_led_by_former_Australian_prime_minister_John_Howard.jpg

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>>179534

Malka Leifer extradition promise ‘illegal’, claims defence

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an “unlawful promise” to Australian political elders including John Howard and former deputy PM Wayne Swan to speed the extradition of accused sex predator Malka ­Leifer, her defence will claim in a last-ditch bid to scuttle her return to Melbourne to face trial.

The gambit turns on a meeting last October in Mr Netanyahu’s Jerusalem office where he told the high-powered delegation that Israel’s government would not stand in the way of Ms Leifer’s ­extradition if and when it was ­approved by local judges.

Following the granting of Australia’s longstanding request for her extradition on Monday by the Jerusalem District Court, one of Ms Leifer’s lawyers, Nick Kaufman, said Mr Netanyahu’s alleged commitment to send her on her way breached due process.

If Israel’s peak Supreme Court rejects Ms Leifer’s foreshadowed appeal against the extradition order, the final decision rests with Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn, whose approval is required to put her on a plane.

Mr Kaufman told The Australian that the Justice Minister’s pledge to “work to expedite” the process reflected the “undue influence” of Mr Netanyahu on the back of his illegal promise to the Australian dignitaries.

“The minister’s discretion to extradite is only exercised after an appeal procedure is exhausted and after he has heard submissions from the accused,” the lawyer said. “When the Justice Minister welcomes the decision of the District Court and announces prior to the appeal that he will do all in his power to speed up Malka Leifer’s extradition to Australia, then he is not, I submit, acting in accordance with accepted principles of administrative propriety.”

Neither office of Mr Netan­yahu or Mr Nissenkorn would comment.

Ms Leifer, 55, faces 74 charges of sexual abuse including rape against sisters Nicole Meyer, 35, Dassi Erlich, 32, and Elly Sapper, 31, committed in 2003-07 while she was principal of Melbourne’s Adass Israel ultra-Orthodox Jewish School. She fled home to Israel in 2008 when the first allegations against her emerged.

The October 29, 2019, meeting with Mr Netanyahu was arranged by Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler, heading the delegation of former prime minister Mr Howard, Mr Swan, former Liberal foreign minister Alexander Downer, another former federal Liberal opposition leader Brendan Nelson and former federal Labor minister Stephen Conroy.

Mr Leibler asked Mr Netan­yahu whether his government would be bound by a public commitment by former justice minister Ayelet Shaked to sign the extradition order once the court process was completed.

This was in the context of her sacking by Mr Netanyahu in June 2019 in what was seen as a pre-election power play, and revelations police had recommended criminal charges against then deputy health minister Yaakov Litzman, a leader of the ultra-­Orthodox religious right, over alleged witness tampering on Ms Leifer’s behalf. “I don’t recall him (Mr Netanyahu) specifically saying the justice minister would sign the order, but he said his government would not do anything to interfere with or further delay the process once judicial hearings had been completed,” Mr Leibler said.

Mr Kaufman had since asked that he forward any notes or documentation from the meeting, a request Mr Leibler rejected.

In ordering Ms Leifer’s extradition, judge Chana Miriam Lomp of the Jerusalem District Court on Monday demolished a defence ­argument that Australian jails could not cater for the needs of a strictly Orthodox Jewish woman.

As Ms Leifer was not resident in Israel at the time of the alleged sex offences, she should serve time in Australia if found guilty, the judge said.

Saluting her alleged victims, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday said the sisters were “heroes” for fighting for ­justice.

“The courage, grace and dignity of those Victorians is quite amazing,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/malka-leifer-extradition-promise-illegal-claims-defence/news-story/8f9e1dfa054b84d999ecf71965842440

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10752876 (230702ZSEP20) Notable: BROKEN: Seeking Justice Podcast - Witness - >Some people saw more than others. But will they admit it?, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Juan_Alessi_70_a_former_housekeeper_of_Jeffrey_Epstein_has_said_that_Ghislaine_Maxwell_told_him_she_hated_the_disgraced_financier.jpg, Maxwell_and_Epstein_dated_for_some_time_before_later_breaking_up_though_they_remained_good_friends_with_Maxwell_managing_Epstein_s_properties.jpg

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>>179540

TRAPPED Ghislaine Maxwell said she ‘hated’ Jeffrey Epstein but she ‘couldn’t leave’ him, perv’s ex-housekeeper claims

A FORMER housekeeper of Jeffrey Epstein has claimed that Ghislaine Maxwell told him she hated the disgraced financier but could not leave.

Juan Alessi made the claims during an interview with Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre for the podcast Broken: Seeking Justice.

Alessi said Maxwell had opened up to him about her connection with Epstein, and so he asked why she was so close to the convicted sex offender.

According to Alessi, 70, Maxwell said: “I hate him but I can’t leave.”

The housekeeper said he then pushed Maxwell, 58, asking her, “Why? You have money. Why are you not leaving?”

Alessi worked for Epstein from 1991 to 2006 – first as a maintenance worker at his homes, and then as a driver and housekeeper in Palm Beach, Florida.

His interviewer, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, claims she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew, in allegations the prince has denied.

Alessi said that Andrew visited Epstein’s home in Palm Beach, two or three times while he was working there.

The 70-year-old said Andrew was memorable because he was polite and the only one of Epstein’s guests to leave him a tip.

Mum-of-three Giuffre, alleged that she was procured by Maxwell, 57, as a teenage “sex slave” for Epstein.

Alessi and Giuffre last saw each other in 2002, when Giuffre left for Thailand to train as a masseuse.

Giuffre, 37, claims that Epstein had asked her to carry a baby for him and Maxwell, who is currently housed in a Brooklyn, New York, jail awaiting trial in July 2021.

AWAITING TRIAL

Prosecutors allege that between 1994 and 1997 Maxwell helped Epstein to groom girls as young as 14.

Maxwell has been charged with six counts of perjury and sex trafficking offenses.

The 17-page indictment against Maxwell accused her of grooming and befriending victims, normalizing inappropriate behavior, being present during abuse to put victims at ease, encouraging victims to accept Epstein's help, and encouraging victims to engage in sexual activity and taking part herself.

One accuser, Jennifer Araoz, said Maxwell was at the "centre of his sex trafficking ring."

She faces up to 35 years in prison if found guilty and denies all accusations.

Epstein was found dead in his New York prison cell in August 2019 in an incident that was ruled suicide by hanging.

He met Maxwell in the early 90s – around the time her father, Robert Maxwell, a newspaper tycoon, died in mysterious circumstances after falling from his yacht.

Maxwell and Epstein dated for some time before later breaking up.

They remained good friends, with Maxwell going on to manage Epstein's properties.

A 'CONFUSING' RELATIONSHIP

In his interview with Giuffre, Alessi addressed the pair's relationship.

He said: "That relationship between Epstein and her, I never understood.'

Alessi added: "I told her many times. I said, 'Ghislaine, why are you doing this? Why are you staying with this guy?'

"[She said] 'I hate him, I hate him but I can't leave.' I said, 'Why? You have money. Why are you not leaving?"

Giuffre said that she found their relationship "confusing."

It is this relationship that will likely form the case against Maxwell in her upcoming trial.

Alessi said that there was a code of secrecy inside Epstein's home, and that he "was not supposed to talk to the guests."

He added: "I was not supposed to talk to Virginia. Nothing. No talking."

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/broken-seeking-justice/id1478460758

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12742606/jeffrey-epstien-housekeeper-claims-ghislaine-maxwell-couldnt-leave/

—

BROKEN: Seeking Justice

Investigative Reporter Julie K. Brown exposed Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes to the world. Now his survivors are fighting for the truth. This season, host Tara Palmeri follows the women who are making their own justice.

Witness

Some people saw more than others. But will they admit it?

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/witness/id1478460758

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10752932 (230715ZSEP20) Notable: Paul Keating’s daughter Alexandra dating Hollywood director Rupert Sanders, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Katherine_left_and_Alexandra_Keating.jpg, Actors_Chris_Hemsworth_from_and_Kristen_Stewart_with_director_Rupert_Sanders_on_the_set_of_Snow_White_and_the_Huntsman.jpg, The_portrait_Alexandra_Keating_and_Rupert_Sanders_on_a_Yacht_in_Sydney_Harbour_is_by_artist_Oliver_Watts.jpg, Liberty_Ross_and_director_Rupert_Sanders_filed_divorce_in_2013.jpg, Former_PM_Paul_Keating_wife_Annita_and_daughters_Caroline_Katherine_and_Alexandra_in_1993.jpg

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Paul Keating’s daughter Alexandra dating Hollywood director Rupert Sanders

It’s been revealed the youngest daughter of former Australian prime minister Paul Keating is dating a controversial Hollywood director, and the pair has appeared in an Archibald Prize entry.

The youngest daughter of former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating is dating controversial Hollywood director Rupert Sanders.

Confidential can reveal Alexandra Keating and Sanders are an item, and have appeared in a double portrait that was entered in the Archibald Prize, whose winner is announced on Friday.

The portrait, titled Alexandra Keating and Rupert Sanders on a Yacht in Sydney Harbour, is by artist Oliver Watts who is friends with both Alexandra and her sister Katherine Keating. Katherine was drawn into the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal when she was filmed farewelling Prince Andrew at the front door of Epstein’s New York mansion when he was staying there in 2010.

There is no suggestion Katherine Keating, who was reportedly friends with the Duke, knew of any wrongdoing by Epstein.

Rupert Sanders is controversial in that he made international headlines when he and actor Kristen Stewart were photographed in an intimate embrace in 2012.

Sanders was at the time married to model Liberty Ross, with whom he has two children. The couple divorced in 2014.

Stewart was in a relationship with her Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson. Both Stewart and Sanders issued separate public apologies after the images were printed.

Oliver Watts told Arts Editor Elizabeth Fortescue that he joined Sanders and Alexandra on a boat at Rose Bay in January or February this year.

The couple had agreed to let Watts paint them, and Sanders stepped in to direct what sort of pose they should take for their portrait.

“Obviously Rupert is very creative,” Watts said.

Sanders directed Snow White and The Huntsman in 2012, which starred Kristen Stewart. He also directed the film adaptation of the sci-fi manga franchise Ghost in the Shell, starring Scarlett Johansson.

Watts would not comment on whether the boat in the painting belongs to Paul Keating, or whether the former PM was on board that day. But he did reveal his admiration for Alexandra.

“She’s really a special person — very clever, very charismatic,” Watts said.

“She is happy that Rupert is her boyfriend.”

The painting is “a tender conversation piece of a couple”, Watts said.

Alexandra’s father was himself the subject of a very handsome painting by Brian Westwood which won the Archibald in 1992 when Keating was PM.

While Watts’ painting of Keating’s daughter and her boyfriend was not selected as a finalist for the $100,000 Archibald Prize, it was chosen for the Salon des Refuses. The Salon is the “alternative Archibald” exhibition, chosen from among the Archibald rejects and shown at the S.H. Ervin Gallery in The Rocks.

The Archibald Prize will be announced on Friday at the Art Gallery of NSW. Both the Archibald and Salon des Refuses open on Saturday.

Notables in the running for the Archibald this year include broadcaster Adam Spencer (painted by Samuel Rush Condon), documentary star Dujuan Hoosen (by Blak Douglas, aka Adam Hill), journalist David Marr (by Nicholas Harding), journalist Annabel Crabb (by Jane Guthleben), chef Adam Liaw (by Yoshio Honjo), ALP leader Anthony Albanese (by James Powditch), writer Bruce Pascoe (by Craig Ruddy) and Magda Szubanski (by Wendy Sharpe).

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/arts/paul-keatings-daughter-dating-hollywood-director-rupert-sanders/news-story/80d015022dec8d36e102bce2cca70581

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10753030 (230742ZSEP20) Notable: International Sting Against Dark Web Vendors Leads To 179 Arrests, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Operation_DisrupTor.jpg, THE_DARK_WEB_IS_NO_FAIRY_TALE.jpg

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INTERNATIONAL STING AGAINST DARK WEB VENDORS LEADS TO 179 ARRESTS

22 September 2020 - Press Release

Today, a coalition of law enforcement agencies across the world announced the results of a coordinated operation known as DisrupTor which targeted vendors and buyers of illicit goods on the dark web.

This operation follows the takedown in May of last year of Wall Street Market, the world’s then second largest illegal online market in the dark web. Led by the German Federal Criminal Police (Bundeskriminalamt) with the support of the Dutch National Police (Politie) Europol, Eurojust and various US government agencies, this takedown provided investigators with quantitative data and materials to identify suspects behind dark web accounts used for illegal activity.

As a result, 179 vendors who engaged in tens of thousands of sales of illicit good were arrested across Europe and the United States. Over $6.5 million were seized in both cash and virtual currencies, alongside some 500 kilograms of drugs, including fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, MDMA, and medicine containing addictive substances; and 64 firearms.

The arrests were carried out in the United States (121), Germany (42), the Netherlands (8), United Kingdom (4), Austria (3), and Sweden (1). A number of investigations are still ongoing to identify the individuals behind dark web accounts.

A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT TO TACKLE THE DARK WEB

Operation DisrupTor was composed of a series of separate but complementary joint operations coordinated by Europol and Eurojust, all aimed at making a global impact on the sale of illicit goods on the dark web.

This operation was the result of a collaborative effort between the law enforcement and judicial authorities of Austria, Cyprus, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Commenting on this operation, the Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), Edvardas Šileris, said:

Law enforcement is most effective when working together, and today’s announcement sends a strong message to criminals selling or buying illicit goods on the dark web: the hidden internet is no longer hidden, and your anonymous activity is not anonymous. Law enforcement is committed to tracking down criminals, no matter where they operate – be it on the streets or behind a computer screen.

THE DARK WEB IS NO FAIRY TALE

The golden age of dark web marketplace is over. Operations such as these highlight the capability of law enforcement to counter encryption and anonymity of dark web market places. Police no longer only takes down such illegal marketplaces – they also chase down the criminals buying and selling illegal goods through such sites.

Thinking of buying illegal goods anonymously on the dark web?

These are the dangers you are exposed to:

* Putting your life in danger: dangerous illegal drugs such as fentanyl or counterfeit substances could kill you.

* Become a victim of cyber scammers who are only after your money.

* Exposing your device to damaging malware.

Law enforcement can also trace back illicit transactions to both the buyer and seller. An individual who purchased illicit goods from hidden sites is at risk of prosecution in a number of countries.

The dark web is not a fairy tale - vendors and buyers are no longer hidden in the shadow.

The following authorities took part in this operation:

Austria: Federal Investigation Bureau (Bundeskriminalamt)

Cyprus: Cyprus Police (Αστυνομία Κύπρου)

Germany: Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), State Criminal Police Offices (Landeskriminalämter), the competent local police forces and Customs Investigation Offices (Zollfahndungsämter)

The Netherlands: National Police (Politie), Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (Koninklijke Marechaussee)

Sweden: National Police (Polisen)

Australia: Western Australia Police Force, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission

Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

United Kingdom: National Crime Agency; Dark Web Intelligence, Collection and Exploitation (DICE)

United States: Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Department of Defense (DOD)

https://www.europol.europa eu/newsroom/news/international-sting-against-dark-web-vendors-leads-to-179-arrests

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10753093 (230759ZSEP20) Notable: Facebook suddenly refuses to appear before foreign interference committee

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>>179537

Facebook suddenly refuses to appear before foreign interference committee

Facebook has suddenly refused to appear before a parliamentary committee into foreign interference, asking instead for its evidence to be rescheduled after the US election in November.

The chair of the inquiry, Labor Senator Jenny McAllister, was disappointed at the social media giant's about-face given the publicity surrounding its platform being used for disinformation campaigns in the past.

Facebook was pencilled in to appear on Friday before the Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media, alongside executives from popular video-sharing app TikTok.

But Senator McAllister said the company advised the committee on Tuesday it would no longer make senior staff available for questioning.

She argued it was "disappointing" Facebook had not adopted the same constructive approach as TikTok, and said it appeared "unwilling to participate in our processes of democratic accountability".

"Facebook's platform has been used by malicious actors to run sophisticated disinformation campaigns in elections around the globe," Senator McAllister said.

"Eighty-four per cent of Australians are on Facebook. We use it to connect with other people and debate ideas that are important to our community.

"The Australian public deserve to know how Facebook manages the risks their platform presents to our democracy and public discourse."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Facebook said the company still planned on attending the committee.

"We are committed to cooperating with the Senate committee on this inquiry and answering the questions they may have," they said.

"Due to a scheduling issue we’ve requested to appear at a later day."

Facebook has been widely criticised for failing to stop manipulation of posts on its platform ahead of the last US election, allowing Russian meddling in the poll.

Millions of people had their personal data harvested from Facebook by Cambridge Analytica ahead of the 2016 presidential ballot, which was then used to influence the election.

In July this year, Facebook announced it would start labelling content that violated its policies ahead of this year's election.

Social media companies have drawn the interest of Australia's intelligence agencies, with TikTok facing scrutiny over its ties to the Chinese Government.

The company denies any personal data is handed over to authorities.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-23/facebook-suddenly-refuses-appear-foreign-interference-committee/12692014

—

Parliament of Australia - Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Interference_through_Social_Media/ForeignInterference

Media Releases

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Interference_through_Social_Media/ForeignInterference/Media_Releases

23 Sep 2020

https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=0df446be-5fe0-4e97-be93-fc4746438cdc

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10753210 (230837ZSEP20) Notable: Shane Andrew Lunnay, who streamed himself having sex with a child-like sex doll, jailed for importing child exploitation material, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Shane_Andrew_Lunnay_was_jailed_for_a_year_in_the_District_Court_on_Wednesday.jpg, The_court_heard_Shane_Andrew_Lunnay_developed_an_addiction_to_animated_material_known_as_hentai.jpg

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Shane Andrew Lunnay, who streamed himself having sex with a child-like sex doll, jailed for importing child exploitation material

A YouTuber who once streamed himself having sex with a child-like doll “for the shock value” was caught by police with some very disturbing images.

A ponytailed gamer who streamed video of himself having sex with a child-like doll will spend a year behind bars.

Adelaide man Shane Andrew Lunnay was also caught with drawings of children and adults engaged in acts of bestiality, and imported animated child pornography.

Sentencing him in the District Court on Wednesday, Judge Geraldine Davison said Lunnay admitted he had a sexual interest in children.

Over time, the 35-year-old developed an addiction to the animated material known as hentai.

“It is clear, looking at the materials on the file and, in particular, the photographs of your bedroom and living area, that this addiction to a fantasy way of life was all-encompassing for you,” she said.

“Sadly, however, it was not just material that was animated that you were found with.”

Judge Davison said Lunnay was also found with a number of images of real children and real child abuse material.

In May and June of 2019, the Australian Border Force detected several consignments addressed to Lunnay that contained child abuse material and “objectionable material”.

In June, the ABF executed a warrant at his home address.

Among the material seized was 650 hentai publications suspected of containing child abuse material, a computer tower and mobile phone.

The hentai publications depicted adults and or children under the age of 18 years in sexual poses and in sexual activity, including drawings of children aged between three and 12.

There were also drawings of adults and children under 12 engaging in acts of bestiality.

Lunnay later told police the material was “just drawings”, and he had been selling the anime to rid himself of his addiction.

“You also admitted conduct that involved having sex with a child-like doll and streaming this to people online,” the judge said.

“Those people included children.

“You did this for the shock value and to see people’s reactions to your conduct.”

Judge Davison said Lunnay had not been charged over the act and was not sentenced for it, but it confirmed his sexual interest in children.

Lunnay had previously posted hundreds of videos of himself playing video games on a YouTube channel called “Radical Dreamer Shane-O”.

He also talked about items he has collected, including stuffed toys and figurines.

Judge Davison said he lives with his parents and has used the internet as a way of making friends and socialising.

She added that Lunnay had now recognised the need for lifestyle changes, including applying for a gym membership, but the offending was very serious.

He was ordered to serve one year behind bars and another 18 months on parole.

Lunnay pleaded guilty to a number of Commonwealth and state offences including aggravated possession of child exploitation material and importing prohibited goods.

https://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/shane-andrew-lunnay-who-streamed-himself-having-sex-with-a-childlike-sex-doll-jailed-for-importing-child-exploitation-material/news-story/77b2497ad47f68c7bf1ce342525c4ea6

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10753306 (230904ZSEP20) Notable: Perth escape artist and children's entertainer Dewald Venter ('Ghupi') facing string of child sex charges, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Mr_Venter_holds_three_world_records_for_his_routines.jpg

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Perth escape artist and children's entertainer facing string of child sex charges

A Perth entertainer who runs magic workshops for children has been charged with a string of child sex abuse charges.

Dewald Venter, 26, was first charged in May with sexual offences alleged to have been committed against a boy between 13-15 years old. They are alleged to have happened in 2014 and 2016.

Mr Venter, who performs under the stage name 'Ghupi', is alleged to have arranged to meet the boy online, and was charged with six counts of sexual penetration, five counts of indecent dealing, attempted sexual penetration, procure a child to do an indecent act, and persistent sexual conduct with a child.

He first appeared in Joondalup Magistrates Court on these charges on June 8 and is next due to appear in the same court on October 5.

Continuing investigations by child abuse officers uncovered further alleged victims, a boy and a girl who were aged between 12-15 years old at the time of the reported offences, which are alleged to have happened between 2012 and 2016.

Mr Venter, who has appeared on Australia's Got Talent, and who holds world records for his escape routines, has since been charged with 15 counts of indecent dealing with a child, three counts of sexual penetration, and two counts of persistent sexual conduct with a child.

He appeared in Joondalup Magistrates Court on these additional charges on Monday and will reappear on October 5.

Police will also allege during the course of their investigation Mr Venter was found with two unsupervised children, which was not permitted under his bail conditions.

He was subsequently charged with breach of bail.

Mr Venter was refused bail and appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on August 15. He is next due to appear in the same court on Wednesday.

Mr Venter, who performs at private parties and corporate events, has also worked at a summer camp in the USA teaching children magic.

https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/perth-escape-artist-and-children-s-entertainer-facing-string-of-child-sex-charges-20200922-p55y3t.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10753446 (230941ZSEP20) Notable: US Embassy Canberra Tweet: One year ago this week: The United States hosted Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny

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US Embassy Canberra Tweet

One year ago this week: The United States hosted Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny Morrison for an incredible state visit, including dinner under the stars in the @WhiteHouse Rose Garden #USwithAUS

https://twitter.com/USAembassyinOZ/status/1308646621979144192

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10765988 (240542ZSEP20) Notable: Tom Hanks is out of quarantine as filming begins on Elvis biopic on the Gold Coast, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Oscar_winning_American_actor_Tom_Hanks_is_pictured_as_he_emerges_from_quarantine_in_Queensland_visiting_Pacific_Fair_shopping_centre_on_the_Gold_Coast.jpg, Oscar_winner_Tom_Hanks_visits_Pacific_Fair_shopping_centre_on_the_Gold_Coast.jpg, Hanks_was_originally_set_to_begin_filming_for_the_Elvis_biopic_in_March_but_returned_home_to_the_USA_after_he_contracted_COVID_19.jpg, Hanks_at_Pacific_Fair.jpg

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Tom Hanks is out of quarantine as filming begins on Elvis biopic on the Gold Coast

The Hollywood superstar at the centre of Queensland’s border exemption controversy is now out of quarantine and set to begin work on the Gold Coast.

Tom Hanks touched down two weeks ago to begin filming for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic, which was originally slated to begin filming in March but was suspended when the star contracted COVID-19.

Luhrmann and the Queensland Government spent months formulating a COVIDSafe plan which would allow filming to resume, tipped to inject $100 million into the local economy.

As a result, Hanks was allowed to fly into Australia while thousands of Australians remain stranded overseas.

It prompted a woman stranded in London, desperately waiting to return home to Australia, to pen a letter to Hanks, expressing how “disheartening” it was to see celebrities head to Australia while she had been waiting months to return home.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk came under fire for allowing the movie star to enter the state, even copping criticism from the Prime Minister, amid a heartbreaking case of a Canberra woman denied approval to attend her father’s funeral.

On Sydney radio on Thursday morning, before border restrictions were eased to allow ACT residents into the sunshine state, Mr Morrison said he didn’t expect special treatment to enter Queensland.

Mr Morrison accused the state of “double standards”, after 400 AFL executives were also allowed to enter the state while ordinary Australians remained locked out.

“Well I don’t think there should be double standards, I mean it’s not like I’m a Hollywood movie star or in the AFL or anything,” he told Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa.

In a press conference on Wednesday morning, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said he was “shameless” in supporting jobs on the Gold Coast, including in the film and TV industry.

“It’ll be great to see how people around the world talk about the fact that it was filmed on the Gold Coast,” he said.

“I’m sure it will encourage other film producers to come here... we’re one of the few places that can be fully open for film production.

“It really goes to underline how some people want to make this a choice between health and the economy, but it’s not a choice.

“You have to get the health response right first, and then we can get on with creating jobs, just as we have in the film industry.”

CHO Dr Jeannette Young revealed part of the reason why Hanks and his cast and crew mates were allowed to enter Queensland was for monetary reasons, namely that it would provide a well-needed boost for the state’s struggling economy.

“I have given exemptions from people in entertainment and film because that is bringing a lot of money into this state,” she said in a press conference earlier this month.

Mr Morrison said he understood why people were “frustrated” to see the “double standards.”

“Queenslanders are fair-minded people. I know, I’m sure the vast majority of Queenslanders would support the border being in place. That’s why it’s not about that, it’s about – you know, Queenslanders are very fair-minded people too, and I think this is what would offended them, the double standards that are there,” Mr Morrison said on September 10.

Hanks, alongside co-star Austin Butler, will begin filming at Village Roadshow Studios on Wednesday.

While Hanks was spotted at Pacific Fair on Tuesday, castmate Butler, who will play Elvis, was also spotted at Broadbeach.

Initial reports suggested Hanks was quarantining in a lavish Gold Coast hinterland estate, but that was later denied by Ms Palaszczuk who said the star was staying in a “government approved hotel”.

“My advice is that he is staying in a hotel, so I am told that he is not staying in a house,” she said on Sunday.

“There are other people who have flown in from LA into Sydney and are staying in New South Wales now obviously they would have had to get the exemptions and border force checks as well … but unfortunately we’re not hearing anything about that in New South Wales, all we are hearing is about Queensland.

“Scott Morrison flew up here a few months ago and talked about more incentives to get more movies here, so that’s okay, we put in on the table more incentives to get movies here as well, and I’ll tell you what they want to come to Queensland and film and that means keeping people on the Gold Coast in employment and I’ll fight for those jobs.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/tom-hanks-is-out-of-quarantine-as-filming-begins-on-elvis-biopic-on-the-gold-coast/news-story/bff2e6326dc0e65f9699fa1c17a9be29

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10766423 (240701ZSEP20) Notable: ‘We literally jumped for joy’ - Malka Leifer to be sent back to Australia to face 74 charges of child sex abuse

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‘We literally jumped for joy’

Malka Leifer has been ordered to be sent back to Australia to face 74 charges of child sex abuse after an Israeli judge on Monday agreed to extradite the former Melbourne principal

1/2

It was just after 5pm on Monday when the long-awaited news from the Jerusalem District Court filtered through to sisters Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper in Melbourne: Malka Leifer, their alleged sexual abuser and former principal of the Adass Israel School, had been ordered for extradition to Australia.

“We literally jumped for joy. It was an incredible moment to hear words that we almost never thought we would hear since 2011,” Meyer told The AJN.

“Nine years [we were] waiting [since lodging statements to police]. It’s still incredible to think about it now.”

Erlich added, “This is the day that we’ve been waiting for. It’s actually happened, and I just can’t stop smiling.”

Leifer fled to Israel when the allegations against her began to emerge in 2008. Six years ago, Australia filed an extradition request in an effort to see her return to face 74 counts of child sexual abuse. Since then, 72 court dates have followed, interspersed between bouts of feigned mental illness and claims of political interference.

In Monday’s decision, Judge Chana Lomp wrote, “I accept the petition and declare the respondent as extraditable to Australia for the offences attributed to her in the extradition request.

“Since I have determined that [Leifer] was not a resident of Israel at the time of the offences which are the subject of the petition, she is not entitled to the protection provided in Section 1A of the Extradition Law, that would have allowed her to carry out her sentence in Israel,” she said, noting that Leifer will remain in police custody until she is sent back to Australia.

Leifer’s lawyers have indicated their plans to appeal the extradition order to Israel’s Supreme Court – an avenue that is available to them for 30 days post-decision – with defence lawyer Nick Kaufman saying, “For those who think that this chapter is now closed, I’m sorry, the process will still last quite a few months more.”

Speaking on the prospect of appeal, Meyer said, “We do have faith that the Supreme Court will uphold the District Court’s decision and it is just a waiting game for us now,” adding that the sisters are hopeful the extradition will occur late this year or early 2021.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10766781 (240829ZSEP20) Notable: PDF: WANTED BY THE FBI - MICHAEL JAMES PRATT - Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Production of Child Pornography

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>>179567

WANTED BY THE FBI

MICHAEL JAMES PRATT

Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion; Production of Child Pornography; Sex Trafficking of a Minor and by Force, Fraud and Coercion; Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion; Criminal Forfeiture

Aliases:

Michael Pratt, Michal J. Pratt, Mark

Reward:

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of Michael James Pratt.

Remarks:

Pratt has ties to or may visit: New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Singapore, Japan, Chile, Croatia, and France.

Caution:

From approximately 2012 to October 2019, in the Southern District of California and elsewhere, Michael James Pratt and others allegedly participated in a conspiracy to recruit young adult and minor women to engage in commercial sex acts by force, fraud and coercion. Pratt and a co-conspirator owned and operated a pornography production company and online pornography websites, "GirlsDoPorn" and "GirlsDoToys." Pratt and his co-conspirators allegedly recruited young women from around the United States by posting advertisements for clothed modeling jobs on the Internet. Pratt and his co-conspirators advised the women responding to the ads that the jobs were in fact for pornographic videos and that they would be paid between $3,000 to $5,000 U.S. dollars for a one-day video shoot. To persuade the women to participate, Pratt and his co-conspirators allegedly convinced the women they would remain anonymous, that their videos ​would be provided to private collectors on DVD, and would not be posted on the Internet. Pratt allegedly paid other young women working at his direction to act as references or provide false assurances to the women that, if they filmed a video, the video would not be posted online. Some ​women were not permitted to leave the shooting locations until the videos were made ​and ​others were allegedly forced to perform certain sex acts they had declined to do. Allegedly, some of the women were sexually assaulted. ​Pratt's pornography websites generated more than $17 million U.S. dollars in revenue. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Pratt in the United States District Court, Southern District of California, on November 6, 2019.

Submit a Tip:

If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/legal-attache-offices

Field Office: San Diego

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sandiego

Submit an anonymous Tip online

https://tips.fbi.gov/

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/additional/michael-james-pratt

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10766846 (240853ZSEP20) Notable: Scott Morrison’s call with Japan’s Yoshihide Suga catches Beijing's ire, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Yoshihide_Suga_is_applauded_after_he_was_elected_as_Japan_s_prime_minister_on_September_16.jpg

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Scott Morrison’s call with Japan’s Yoshihide Suga catches Beijing's ire

Scott Morrison’s phone call to Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga — the first by a world leader — has raised concern in Beijing about Tokyo and Canberra forming an “iron triangle with Washington” in the Asia Pacific.

An analysis published on the People’s Liberation Army’s news website China Military said there were “deep implications” in Mr Morrison and Mr Suga’s 20-minute-long, Sunday-night call, which it said “drew close attention in the international policy circle”.

In the piece Lyu Yaodong, a Japanese studies research fellow at the influential government think tank Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that Mr Suga’s call to Mr Morrison — which was made before a Sunday night call to US President Donald Trump — revealed Japan and Australia’s shared awareness of the decline of American power relative to China.

“As Washington becomes less influential in the Asia Pacific, Tokyo and Canberra have to reaffirm its importance in the region and jointly prevent their alliance with the super power from becoming an empty shell,” wrote Lyu.

The Australian and Japanese governments have repeatedly confirmed the two countries’ close strategic partnership since Mr Suga’s long serving predecessor Shinzo Abe in late August announced he was stepping down as prime minister for health reasons.

Last week Marise Payne was the first foreign minister to talk to her Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, after the English speaker was reappointed as foreign minister.

The Australian on Tuesday revealed Tokyo and Canberra are working on a plan for Mr Morrison to become the first leader in the world to meet Mr Suga, perhaps as early as late November.

That meeting of the two US allies — which could be delayed until January for domestic political reasons and coronavirus travel complications — will be closely watched in Beijing.

Reports in the Japanese media have said Suga will speak to Chinese President Xi Jingping on Friday.

In another sign of the new Suga administration’s desire to project continuity with the Abe era, an in-person gathering of the four foreign ministers of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue — made up of the US, Japan, India and Australia — will be held in Tokyo in early October.

Lyu said the summary of the Suga-Morrison call released by the Japanese foreign ministry indicated Japan and Australia would have a “closer and more regular” defence partnership, would be “tough on China over issues related to the East China Sea and South China Sea” and highlighted the “importance” to them “in shaping” the Quad grouping with the US and India.

The Beijing-based research fellow said the call showed Mr Suga’s “intention to form an iron triangle with Washington and Canberra to reinforce the country’s geostrategic control in Asia Pacific”.

With the November presidential election approaching, the Trump administration has become increasingly loud in championing its alliance network as a key strategic advantage over China.

In a rare public appearance, Miles Yu, a Chinese-born policy adviser to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, this week said an “alliance of democracies” was forming to counter China’s threat.

“We have countries like ... Japan, Australia, the U.K., Canada, EU, NATO and ASEAN organisation countries. We all share the same values,” the influential state department policy planner said.

“China has none that it can be trusted,” Mr Yu said in an online discussion hosted by Canadian think tank Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

“North Korea is useless for the (Chinese Communist Party) for the most part. Russia is playing a hard-to-get game with Beijing,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/scott-morrisons-call-with-japans-yoshihide-suga-catches-beijings-ire/news-story/a52d794de1e08bf0b3ffcddf2e31883e

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10766945 (240924ZSEP20) Notable: PDF: Westpac and AUSTRAC reach agreement on Anti-Money Laundering / Counter-Terrorism and Financing civil proceedings

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Westpac slugged with $1.3 billion fine over Austrac scandal

Westpac will cough up more than a billion dollars in penalties to the financial crimes watchdog for failing to stop transactions that funded child sex trafficking.

The country’s second largest bank has agreed to pay the largest civil fine in Australian history, after admitting to 23 million breaches of financial crime laws relating to international transfers and transactions that funded terrorism and human trafficking for years.

Austrac’s 2019 Westpac investigation revealed programming errors led to five years of millions of suspicious bank transfers not being reported to the watchdog.

The multitude of transfers to and from the bank equated to $11 billion. Westpac had failed to declare the transactions to Austrac within the adequate time frame.

In the statement of agreed facts, which will be presented to the Federal Court, it was revealed one Westpac customer had funded $40,000 relating to child exploitation syndicates in the Philippines from 2014 to 2018.

“Westpac failed to identify activity potentially indicative of child exploitation risks by failing to implement appropriate transaction monitoring detection scenarios,” the statement said.

Westpac chief executive Peter King apologised for its failings relating to the historical transactions, which were not flagged as suspicious at the time.

“We are committed to fixing the issues to ensure that these mistakes do not happen again,” he said.

“This has been my number one priority. We have also closed down relevant products and reported all relevant historical transactions.”

Westpac conceded to the total number of breaches claimed by Austrac.

Austrac was initially trying to sap Westpac of $1.5 billion over the matter, while the bank had set $900 million in its 2020 half-year results in anticipation of the penalty.

The bank had originally admitted to about 19 million of the financial crime violations after an internal compliance probe, instead of the 23 million alleged by the financial crimes regulator.

The breaches were made to four overseas banks, with the processing errors related to a Westpac end-to-end technology system that did not properly record payment information.

Transfer issues also related to the installation of the LitePay payments product within the bank that facilitated overseas money transactions of up to $3000.

Austrac and the Attorney-General’s office have previously warned frequent low value payments to the Philippines could be at risk of being related to child exploitation rings.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said the fine reflected the “very significant” and “serious failures” of Westpac’s compliance regimen.

“The bank has admitted to 23 million breaches of counter money laundering and counter terrorism laws, which includes failing to report international funds transfers,” he said.

“Some of those international funds transfers have been directly linked to the alleged facilitation or funding of child exploitation material in foreign countries.”

After the revelations by Austrac, Westpac’s then chief executive Brian Hartzer and chairman Lindsay Maxsted were forced to depart the bank.

The $1.3 billion fine dwarfs the $700 million penalty that Commonwealth Bank was forced to pay in 2018, after Austrac revealed uncapped deposits on ATMs had allowed arms and drug dealers to launder money into bank accounts.

Mr King said the bank was strengthening its abilities to identify suspicious behaviour, recruiting 200 financial crime employees.

“Westpac has made substantial investments to strengthen its systems, processes and controls to detect and report suspicious transactions,” he said.

“We are determined to continually lift our financial crime standards, comply with our obligations and uphold our customer, community, and regulatory expectations.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/westpac-pays-up-for-austral-scandal/news-story/4161d88925180d6dd70a124b8fafdb8e

—

Westpac and AUSTRAC reach agreement on AML/CTF civil proceedings subject to Federal Court approval

24 September 2020

Westpac Group has today announced it has reached an agreement with AUSTRAC to resolve the civil proceedings commenced in the Federal Court of Australia on 20 November 2019.

https://www.westpac.com.au/about-westpac/media/media-releases/2020/24-september/

https://www.westpac.com.au/content/dam/public/wbc/documents/pdf/aw/media/WBC_asx_release_24-09-20.pdf

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10767015 (240941ZSEP20) Notable: PDF: South Australian Opposition legal affairs spokesman Kyam Maher’s letter to Attorney-General Vickie Chapman

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Paedophiles Mark Anthony Gray and Dylan McCrossin plead guilty to child exploitation crimes, earn up to 40 per cent off sentences

Two Adelaide men will serve up to 40 per cent less prison time for their child exploitation offences – because they rushed through their guilty pleas before a change in sentence discount laws.

Two child sex offenders – one who used the Kik app, the other a teacher at seven SA schools – have pleaded guilty to secure hefty sentencing discounts that are about to be abolished.

In separate court hearings on Thursday, Mark Anthony Gray and Dylan McCrossin pleaded guilty to possessing material showing children under the age of 14 being exploited.

Both Gray – who also produced and shared the illegal material – and McCrossin are now eligible to receive reductions of up to 40 per cent off their eventual sentences.

While a State Government bill to reduce discounts passed the Lower House earlier this week, it has yet to pass through the Upper House.

The Greens wish to interrogate the terms of the bill, as they are permitted to do so under Parliamentary rules.

An Opposition bill to cut the discounts was introduced in parliament in July but was voted down.

On Thursday, Opposition legal affairs spokesman Kyam Maher said the government was to blame for any leniency shown to Gray or McCrossin.

“Paedophiles are now pushing each other out of the way to plead guilty and take advantage of the government’s inexcusable lack of action,” he said.

“We moved legislation to fix this in July and the government voted against it – we said at the time that, if any more vile offenders got out of prison early it would be on Steven Marshall’s head.

“He must now take responsibility.”

Gray, 56, of Wynn Vale, was the first to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday.

He was arrested in May by SA’s Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team, or JACET, which is a partnership between SA Police and Australian Federal Police.

At the time, JACET alleged Gray was acting as an administrator of a social networking application for the purpose of dealing with child exploitation material.

On Thursday, by video link, Gray pleaded guilty to multiple basic and aggravated counts of possessing and disseminating child exploitation material.

He also pleaded guilty to one aggravated count of producing child exploitation material.

Under Commonwealth law, an aggravated offence means the child depicted in the material was under the age of 14 years.

Gray also pleaded guilty to multiple counts of acting as a host or administrator of a website used to distribute child exploitation material.

Those charges, relating to his use of the Kik app, and all other offences occurred between November 2018 and May 2020.

The state’s chief magistrate, Judge Mary-Louise Hribal, remanded Gray in custody to face the District Court in November, when a date for sentencing will be set.

McCrossin, 39, of Norwood, faced court later in the day – his case was not scheduled to be heard again until December.

His lawyer told the court her client wanted the matter called on so that he could enter guilty pleas.

McCrossin pleaded guilty to one aggravated count, and two basic counts of possessing child exploitation material.

Those offences were committed at Norwood on January 9 this year.

McCrossin was arrested by JACET in July, prompting the Department of Education to notify parents at seven schools.

Judge Hribal remanded him on continuing bail to face the District Court in November, in order to set a sentencing date.

On Thursday, Attorney-General Vickie Chapman said it was “extremely disappointing” the Greens had “stalled” the bill and not proceeded with it.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/south-australia/paedophile-mark-anthony-gray-pleads-guilty-to-using-kik-to-spread-child-exploitation-material-gets-40-per-cent-off-his-sentence/news-story/fd62421670f6a22752a5801d92de9314

—

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Kyam Maher’s letter to Attorney-General Vickie Chapman

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QiQMfAF-N8-n8s3cgV0dT4wQn4s9sPAJ/view

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10767066 (240957ZSEP20) Notable: Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: #Help, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: VRG_51.jpg

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Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet

#Help

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1308963535511154688

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10770516 (241758ZSEP20) Notable: Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Please be advised that I may have been hacked. I’m all good, thank you all for your concern!!, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: VRG_52.jpg

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>>179573

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet

I have not put this out there, please be advised that I may have been hacked. I’m all good, thank you all for your concern!! Best- V

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1309073005662941188

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10780524 (250701ZSEP20) Notable: Powerful Vatican cardinal Angelo Becciu resigns amid financial scandal, Cardinal George Pell reportedly had role in uncovering scandal, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Giovanni_Angelo_Becciu_presides_over_an_eucharistic_liturgy_at_the_St_John_in_Latheran_Basilica_in_Rome.jpg, Cardinal_George_Pell_spoke_with_conservative_commentator_Andrew_Bolt_on_Sky_News.jpg, Pope_Francis_accepted_Cardinal_Becciu_s_resignation.jpg

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Powerful Vatican cardinal resigns amid scandal

Rome: The powerful head of the Vatican's saint-making office, Angelo Becciu, has resigned suddenly from the post and renounced his rights as a cardinal amid a financial scandal that has reportedly implicated him indirectly.

The Vatican provided no details on why Pope Francis accepted Becciu's resignation in a statement late on Thursday (Friday AEST). In the one-sentence announcement, the Holy See said only that Francis had accepted Becciu's resignation as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints "and his rights connected to the cardinalate".

Cardinal George Pell reportedly had a role in uncovering the scandal.

Becciu, the former No. 2 in the Vatican's secretariat of state, has been reportedly implicated in a financial scandal involving the Holy See's investment in a London real estate deal that has lost millions of euros in fees paid to middlemen.

The Vatican prosecutor has placed several officials under investigation, as well as the middlemen, but not Becciu. Becciu has defended the soundness of the original investment and denied any wrongdoing, and it's not clear why he resigned.

But the late-breaking and tight-lipped news release, the severity of his apparent sanction and the unexpected downfall of one of the most powerful Vatican officials all suggested a shocking new chapter in the scandal, which has convulsed the city state for the past year.

The Catholic News Agency reported late last year that the Vatican's Prefecture of the Economy led by Cardinal Pell first detected "loans off-books" related to the investment in the London property in 2015.

In response, CNA reported, Becciu personally reprimanded Pell. “Becciu summoned the cardinal - summoned him,” according to a senior official quoted by CNA.

“Pell was supposed to be the ultimate authority in monitoring and authorising all Vatican financial business, answerable only to Pope Francis, but Becciu shouted at him like he was an inferior.”

Pell was convicted of two cases of historical sexual assault in 2019 in Australia and sentenced to six years. The case was later overturned by the High Court of Australia.

In the Vatican statement, the Holy See identified Becciu as “His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Becciu,” making clear he remained a cardinal but without any rights.

At 72, Becciu would have been able to participate in a possible future conclave to elect Francis’ successor. Cardinals over age 80 can't vote. But by renouncing his rights as a cardinal, Becciu has relinquished his rights to take part.

Becciu was the “substitute” or top deputy in the secretariat of state from 2011-2018, when Francis made him a cardinal and moved him into the saint-making office. He straddled two pontificates, having been named by Pope Benedict XVI and entrusted with essentially running the Curia, or Vatican bureaucracy, a position that gave him enormous influence and power.

The financial problems date from 2014, when the Vatican entered into a real estate venture by investing over $US200 million ($283 million) in a fund run by an Italian businessman. The deal gave the Holy See 45 per cent of the luxury building at 60 Sloane Ave. in London’s Chelsea neighbourhood.

The money came from the secretariat’s asset portfolio, which is funded in large part by the Peter’s Pence donations of Catholics around the world for the pope to use for charity and Vatican expenses.

The Holy See decided in November 2018, after Becciu had left the secretariat, to exit the fund, end its relationship with the businessman and buy out the remainder of the building. It did so after Becciu's successor determined that the mortgage was too onerous and that the businessman was losing money in some of the fund’s other investments.

The buyout deal, however, cost the Holy See tens of millions of euros more and sparked the Vatican investigation that has so far implicated a half-dozen Vatican employees.

Becciu has insisted he wasn’t in power during the 2018 buyout deal and always acted in the sole interests of the Holy See. In the Vatican prosecutor's initial warrant, Becciu is not named, and it remains unclear if his role in managing the secretariat's vast asset portfolio was connected with the resignation.

His former boss, Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, has said the whole matter was “opaque" and needed to be clarified. Francis, for his part, has vowed to get to the bottom of what he has said was evidence of corruption in the Holy See.

(continued)

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/powerful-vatican-cardinal-resigns-amid-scandal-20200925-p55z7o.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10780956 (250912ZSEP20) Notable: Julian Assange dramatising about psychotic thoughts, court told, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: A_forensic_psychiatrist_has_disputed_the_depth_of_Julian_Assange_s_depression.jpg

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Julian Assange dramatising about psychotic thoughts, court told

Julian Assange was “self dramatising” about psychotic thoughts and was unlikely to have Asperger syndrome, his extradition hearing has been told.

Nigel Blackwood, a forensic psychiatrist appearing for the US prosecution, told the Old Bailey in London that the WikiLeaks founder suffered from recurrent depression with “some risk of suicide”.

But he said that risk had been carefully managed in London’s Belmarsh prison, and risk factors were “modifiable and he engages with treatments to manage that risk’’.

Dr Blackwood said Assange was “self-dramatising or hyperbolic approach in describing (his medical) symptoms’’, adding it was important to look carefully at the clinical records as well in making diagnoses.

He said if Assange had been severely depressed with psychosis as earlier witness Michael Kopelman had claimed, then that professor should have organised an outside (the jail) referral.

“I do not agree with Kopelman’s approach,” Dr Blackwood said.

“I am objecting that he had Assange at the very severest end of depression … if that was the case (prison doctor) Dr Daley was bound to refer him out to a secure unit so it could be treated. I object to him being put him at furthest end of the depression spectrum.”

Assange is contesting extradition to the US, where he faces 18 spying counts and up to 175 years in jail.

Dr Blackwood, who had examined Assange twice, also said the Australian had some traits that were Asperger-like “but it does not go over the categorical diagnostic line. Even if he has an autistic spectrum disorder … for me he’s at the very mildest end of that diagnostic spectrum.’’

Dr Blackwood said he had anxieties about such a diagnosis in a 49-year-old man where, despite the medical attention he had received in the past, there had never been a historic diagnosis of Asperger’s.

In cross examination, Dr Blackwood said Assange had proven to be a resilient and resourceful man and that he underplayed those traits about himself.

He noted that predictions that Assange would be so depressed that he would not be able to engage in the legal process had not been proven to be the case.

He said that Assange’s warmth, humour, banter, and running a very successful organisation raised doubts about the impact of any Asperger’s disorder on his behaviour.

This is an important part of the trial because in other British cases, the issue of Asperger’s was key to US extradition requests being denied.

Dr Blackwood said if US jail conditions previously described to the court included highly limited access to other inmates, lawyers and fresh air, it may have an impact on Assange’s depressive disorder.

Lawyers from both sides have also demanded medical reports be kept suppressed from journalists “as a matter of principle”.

Assange’s legal team and those for the US prosecution, have asked judge Vanessa Baraitser to refuse journalists access to the reports made to the court by various medical experts.

The court has heard three days of medical evidence where various psychiatrists have referred to diagnoses of severe depression with psychotic hallucinations, details of Assange’s medications, and analysis of his medical history. However the written testimonies of these witnesses has not been made available.

Meanwhile, the founder of Cryptome, a website which published unredacted US government diplomatic cables, has testified he has never been asked to remove the files by US authorities.

In a written statement, John Young told the court that he published the unredacted cables on September 1, 2011 after obtaining them from the URL http://193.198.207.6/wiki/file/xyz/z.gpg.

“Since my publication on Cryptome.org of the unredacted diplomatic cables, no US law enforcement authority has notified me that this publication of the cables is illegal, consists or contributes to a crime in any way, nor have they asked for them to be removed,” he said.

The Old Bailey earlier heard how people learned about the presence of mirrored sites containing the encrypted WikiLeaks diplomatic cache and then separately about the passcode that unlocked the encryption, which was the chapter heading in a book co-written by Guardian journalist David Leigh.

Leigh had been one of the journalist partners working with Assange to redact names in the files leaked to WikiLeaks by the US military analyst Chelsea Manning.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/julian-assange-dramatising-about-psychotic-thoughts-court-told/news-story/d6dbc2c5f52ce0949ba41af98d15125b

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10781303 (251050ZSEP20) Notable: The Death Of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Pushed Me To Join The Satanic Temple - Jamie Smith - huffingtonpost.com.au, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: The_Baphomet_statue_in_the_conversion_room_at_the_Satanic_Temple_in_Salem_Massachusetts_on_Oct_8_2019.jpg

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>>179530

The Death Of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Pushed Me To Join The Satanic Temple

By Jamie Smith, Guest Writer - 24/09/2020'

1/2

I am a 40-something attorney and mother who lives in a quiet neighborhood with a yard and a garage full of scooters and soccer balls. I often walk with my children to get ice cream and spend weekends hiking through a national park. I am not the type of person who would normally consider becoming a Satanist, but these are not normal times.

Like so many other women in the United States, when I learned of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing, my first reaction was not grief but fear. I fear that American citizens are inching closer to living in a theocracy or dictatorship and that the checks meant to prevent this from happening are close to eroding beyond repair.

When Justice Ginsburg died, I knew immediately that action was needed on a scale we have not seen before. Our democracy has become so fragile that the loss of one of the last guardians of common sense and decency in government less than two months before a pivotal election has put our civil and reproductive rights in danger like never before. And, so, I have turned to Satanism.

Members of the Satanic Temple do not believe in the supernatural or superstition. In the same way that some Unitarians and some Jews do not believe in God, Satanic Temple members do not worship Satan and most are atheists. They are not affiliated in any way with the Church of Satan. Instead, the Satanic Temple uses the devil as a symbol of rebellion.

Just like other faiths, the Satanic Temple has a code that their members believe in deeply and use to guide their lives. These Seven Fundamental Tenets include that “one should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason,” that “the struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions,” and that “one’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.”

Reading through the Seven Tenets, I was struck by how closely they aligned with the unwritten code I had used to try to guide my own life for several years. I realized, happily, that these were my people and that I had been a Satanist for several years without even knowing it. When Justice Ginsburg’s death suddenly made combating the threats to reproductive rights and a government free from religious interference more urgent, I knew it was time to join them and support their conceptual and legal battles.

Even before Ginsburg’s death, the Supreme Court was unwilling to provide adequate protection for a woman’s right to choose and to control her body. The court was unwilling to keep church and state separate. Now, without her voice of reason on the court - let alone her vote - Roe v. Wade is in imminent danger of being overturned not based on legal arguments or scientific reasoning, but because of religious objections to what is a safe and necessary procedure for the women who seek it out after discussion with their physician. Ginsburg’s replacement is all but certain to be vehemently anti-choice, with one of the top contenders belonging to a sect that actually used the term “handmaid” to refer to some women until the popularity of the TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale” gave the term negative connotations.

In the hours after Justice Ginsburg’s death, I sat wondering what the future would hold for my daughters. Their ability to live in a country where the religious beliefs of others would not play a role in their right to assert autonomy over their own bodies was suddenly, starkly, in danger. Traditional means of keeping abortion safe and legal seemed woefully inadequate to protect the rights that women in the generation before me had fought so hard to secure.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10781312 (251051ZSEP20) Notable: Q Post # 2904 - Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes., MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Q_2904.jpg

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>>179579

2/2

Almost immediately I sought strength in the Satanic Temple’s efforts to turn religious arguments on their head by pushing for religious liberty for their members on an equal basis with believers in the dominant Christian faiths. And this is not just a theoretical push. The temple has launched campaigns and filed lawsuits to compel the government to do this in matters ranging from exemptions from legal mandates to cover birth control to the ability to display religious symbols in government buildings or allow religious clubs in public schools. By pointing out instances where the government has favored Christian rhetoric - and filing legal challenges to stop it - the Satanic Temple has transformed belief into action and has demonstrated what freedom fighting truly looks like.

The Satanic Temple hopes to appear before the Supreme Court in a case challenging a Missouri abortion law that requires those seeking to terminate their pregnancy to first receive materials asserting that their abortion would end the life of a separate, unique person. The temple argues that these materials violate the deeply held religious beliefs of one of its members regarding bodily autonomy and scientifically reasonable personal choice. The argument the Satanic Temple is using is the same one the Supreme Court effectively endorsed in the Hobby Lobby birth control case, for which Justice Ginsburg wrote the dissent - that no one should have to follow a law that violates their deeply held religious beliefs. If a Christian should not have to do so based on their religion, a Satanist should not have to either. This is what equality under the law means on a fundamental level.

This is an organization I want standing up for my rights and for my daughters’. While I support more mainstream groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Church and State, my research has shown that the Satanic Temple is truly in line with my beliefs about protecting our First Amendment rights and fighting laws that promote or are based on religious doctrine and that it is willing to use radical, creative and yet legally sound strategies to make its case.

I was able to become a mother when I wanted on my own terms. Throughout my pregnancy, I had access to scientifically accurate information and the ability to make informed choices with my doctor. While I never had an abortion, I want the same opportunities to choose for my own daughters. I am far from certain these rights will exist 10 years from now when they may be deciding when, how or even whether to start their own families.

There is a real chance that the Supreme Court will be lost for a generation or more to justices appointed for their religious beliefs rather than a deep understanding of the Constitution or a desire for justice to be carried out on an impartial basis. Because of this, I believe that the Satanic Temple - and its members’ dedication to fighting for true freedom - represents our best, last defense against anti-choice lawmakers who are seeking to assert power over women’s bodies and take away our right to choose. We need creative, resolute thinkers who are willing to stand up for what they believe in and take concrete action to do so, and the Satanic Temple is full of those kind of people. I am proud to now count myself among their ranks.

Everyone who cares about women having autonomy over their bodies should care about efforts to use religion to chip away at this right. We need to think outside the box to challenge what is coming and what is already here. The Satanic Temple is already doing that, and by becoming one of its members, I believe I have joined a community of people who will stop at nothing to safeguard my family’s rights - and all of our rights - when they are at their most vulnerable.

Jamie Smith is an attorney and mother who cares about civil rights. She can be reached at jamiesmithwrites@gmail.com

https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/rbg-mom-joins-satanic-temple_n_5f6b3565c5b629afbe990c15

>https://qanon.pub/?q=satan

>https://qanon.pub/?q=devil

>https://qanon.pub/?q=evil

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10793133 (260303ZSEP20) Notable: Julian Assange's extradition decision won't be made until after the US election, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: A_truck_with_a_billboard_of_Julian_Assange_arrives_at_the_Old_Bailey_court_in_London_during_his_extradition_hearing.jpg

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Julian Assange's extradition decision won't be made until after the US election

London: The British judge hearing Julian Assange's arguments against extradition to the United States has agreed to a request by his lawyers to delay her decision until after the November presidential election.

The timing will bolster the hopes of Assange and his supporters for the extradition request to be dropped if Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden ousts President Donald Trump.

The Trump administration wants Assange to be tried in the US on 18 spying charges over cables published by the Australian's WikiLeaks website a decade ago.

Earlier this week, Assange's fiancee Stella Moris, told this masthead that it if the Democrats were to win, it would be difficult for Biden to be seen to follow Trump's legacy and not that of his predecessor Barack Obama. The Obama administration never charged Assange and the former president commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning - the former army intelligence officer who provided the documents published by Wikileaks. Biden was vice-president to Obama.

Assange's legal team argues the prosecution mounted by the US Department of Justice is political and would violate his human rights. Its earlier request to delay the hearing had been denied.

The hearing has already been delayed to the coronavirus pandemic and the district judge deciding his case, Vanessa Baraitser, had previously warned the defence not to count on her granting another extension.

"One way or the other my decision is likely to come after the election in the United States," she said, granting Assange's lawyers four more weeks, the prosecution another fortnight and the defence a final 72 hours to respond.

She said her decision would likely be handed down in 2021. She asked Edward Fitzgerald, a lawyer for Assange, whether the defence would use the extra time to submit new evidence - a move the prosecution successfully complained about on Friday.

"If something really absolutely major happens obviously the court has to look at the situation as it is.

"Supposing Trump said 'I'm going to execute all journalists' or something like that then obviously we'd be entitled to draw that to the attention of the court but we accept it would have to be something fairly dramatic," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald argued the court would have to take into account the result of the US election at any rate.

"We can't really avoid that political fact," he said.

The delay means Assange will remain at Belmarsh Prison for at least the rest of the year having previously been denied bail.

Last year, Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks' prison for skipping bail in 2012, when he sought political asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy to avoid being extradited to Sweden, where he was wanted over sexual assault allegations.

On Friday, Baraitser again reprimanded the 49-year-old during proceedings, this time for talking to Moris while the hearing extensions were being discussed. She told him to sit back down in the dock, which is separated from the well of the court by a glass pane.

"It's just not appropriate, you have lawyers in front of you. If you wish to give instructions, then of course, you can."

Later Assange could be seen speaking to Moris through the glass but in the company of his Australian lawyer Jennifer Robinson.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/julian-assange-s-extradition-decision-won-t-be-made-until-after-the-us-election-20200925-p55zf2.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10793246 (260314ZSEP20) Notable: Cardinal Pell thanks Pope Francis after Cardinal Becciu resigns, “I hope the cleaning of the stables continues...”, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Cardinal_George_Pell.jpg, vfytrdp5rpoc33l523ke0p38feky0mmj.jpg

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>>179575

Cardinal Pell thanks Pope Francis after Cardinal Becciu resigns

Cardinal George Pell thanked Pope Francis Friday following the dramatic resignation of Vatican Cardinal Angelo Becciu.

In a statement sent to CNA Sept. 25, the former prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy said: “The Holy Father was elected to clean up Vatican finances. He plays a long game and is to be thanked and congratulated on recent developments.”

The cardinal issued the statement from Sydney, Australia, where he is living after his acquittal by Australia’s High Court in April on charges of sexual abuse. He spent 13 months in solitary confinement after he was given a six-year prison sentence following a trial in Melbourne, Victoria.

“I hope the cleaning of the stables continues in both the Vatican and Victoria,” Pell said.

Becciu resigned Sept. 24 as prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints and from the rights extended to members of the College of Cardinals.

The cardinal worked previously as the number two-ranking official in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, and has been connected to an ongoing investigation of financial malfeasance at the secretariat.

Pell and Becciu had clashed over the reform of Vatican finances.

CNA has reported that in 2015 Becciu seemed to have made an attempt to disguise the loans on Vatican balance sheets by canceling them out against the value of the property purchased in the London neighborhood of Chelsea, an accounting maneuver prohibited by new financial policies approved by Pope Francis in 2014.

The alleged attempt to hide the loans off-books was detected by the Prefecture for the Economy, then led by Pell. Senior officials at the Prefecture for the Economy told CNA that when Pell began to demand details of the loans, especially those involving the Swiss bank BSI, then-Archbishop Becciu called the cardinal in to the Secretariat of State for a “reprimand.”

In 2016, Becciu was instrumental in bringing to a halt reforms initiated by Pell. Although Pope Francis had given the newly created Prefecture for the Economy autonomous oversight authority over Vatican finances, Becciu interfered when the prefecture planned an external audit of all Vatican departments, to be conducted by the firm PriceWaterhouseCooper.

Unilaterally, and without permission of Pope Francis, Becciu canceled the audit and announced in a letter to all Vatican departments that it would not take place.

When Pell challenged internally the audit’s cancellation, Becciu persuaded Pope Francis to give his decision ex post facto approval, sources inside the prefecture told CNA. The audit never took place.

Becciu held a press conference in Rome Sept. 25 at which he protested his innocence of financial wrongdoing.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cardinal-pell-thanks-pope-francis-after-cardinal-becciu-resigns-32104

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10793340 (260323ZSEP20) Notable: How British grannies are spreading QAnon conspiracy theory memes on Facebook - Sue Greenwood - theconversation.com, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Outraged_from_far_right_memes_to_Qanon_conspiracies.jpg, Part_of_a_Facebook_post_from_August_11_that_was_marked_as_false_information_by_Facebook.jpg

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How British grannies are spreading QAnon conspiracy theory memes on Facebook

Sue Greenwood - September 25, 2020

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A headteacher in Stoke-on-Trent told me that, alongside ensuring a COVID-safe return to school for her pupils this September, she’s having to reassure parents that their children will not be forcibly taken away and isolated in a secret location if they start coughing in class.

The headteacher keeps getting sent a Facebook post warning parents to “wake up” to the threat in the UK’s Coronavirus Act. “Is this true, can you take my child?” she is asked.

The Facebook post those parents had seen began going viral mid-August. It’s one of several similar posts seen in the UK and Australia, and follows a pattern in many posts linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory. These often include a direct appeal to parents, challenging the reader to do their own research to “prove” the veracity of the claim, a call to defend individual rights against big government, elites, or some undefined “they”.

Despite being quickly fact-checked and tagged as false, this and related posts which use the hashtag #SaveTheChildren are still circulating and the phrase “covid act 2020 children in school” still comes up as an autofill option if you search for “covid act” on Google.

The power of memes

For the past five years, my research has looked at how strangers talk with each other about politics on Facebook. I’ve focused on four English constituencies – Stoke-on-Trent Central, Burton and Uttoxeter, Bristol West and Brighton Pavilion – tracking conversations through public pages, posts and public information on people’s timelines and profiles.

Through the 2015, 2017 and 2019 UK general elections, I saw the increased polarisation of those Facebook conversations and with it increased incivility, partisanship and sectarianism. I was struck by the rising use of memes and how a handful of core themes made their way from meme to belief. During the 2019 election, I noticed how memes from far right US Facebook pages were being posted and spread via people in the UK constituencies I was studying.

I recently decided to explore how the upcoming US election might be translating into partisan ideas on Facebook in the UK. I decided to focus on one meme, and the individual Facebook users who cared enough about that issue to share or comment publicly – and see where it took me.

So, in late August, I returned to Facebook after a seven-month gap and picked the meme that happened to be at the top of my timeline – a post from the group Migrant Watch shared by the page of UKIP Brighton & Hove. This was consistently one of the most active meme-seeders among the constituency party Facebook groups I follow.

I’d found links during the last election between the active seeding of anti-migrant, anti-immigration memes by UK users and US far-right organisations and individuals, and so I expected to find similar links through that meme. But what I hadn’t expected to see was for the meme to lead me to UK mums and grandmothers engaging with QAnon conspiracy theories from the US.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10793446 (260334ZSEP20) Notable: TikTok denies participation in Australia's security probes into possible interference from China, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Icons_for_the_smartphone_apps_TikTok_and_WeChat_are_seen_on_a_smartphone_screen_in_Beijing.jpg, In_this_July_17_2020_file_photo_a_visitor_to_an_Apple_store_wears_a_t_shirt_promoting_Tik_Tok_in_Beijing.jpg, Scott_Morrison_speaks_after_National_Cabinet_on_September_18_2020.jpg

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TikTok denies participation in Australia's security probes into possible interference from China

TikTok executives told a Senate committee on Friday that they lobbied Australian lawmakers but did not engage with investigators before the government concluded that the video-sharing app did not pose a security threat.

The executives were questioned by a committee that is examining foreign interference in Australia through social media.

The Chinese-owned app has come under intense scrutiny in Australia after President Donald Trump threatened to ban it from the United States on national security grounds.

TikTok general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Lee Hunter, said the Australian government "recently concluded that there was no reason to restrict us."

Australia's Home Affairs Department and security agencies examined whether the social media company posed a security threat by harvesting users' data.

Committee chair Jenny McAllister, an opposition senator, said the Home Affairs Department should have spoken to TikTok as part of its security investigation. Its failure to do so was "quite incredible to me," she said.

TikTok director of public policy for Australia and New Zealand, Brent Thomas, said the business did not participate in the investigations.

"We reached out to a range of federal politicians, including every member of the Australian Cabinet, and we did have discussions with the relevant ministers' offices who were in charge of those departments, but we were not asked to engage directly with those agencies," Mr Thomas said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison distanced Australia from the United States stance on TikTok last month when he said "there is nothing at this point that would suggest to us that security interests have been compromised or Australian citizens have been compromised."

The move was seen as one that might briefly improve his government's fractious relationship with China.

The TikTok executives said they first heard of the outcome of the investigations from media reports of Mr Morrison's comments, although they had since received government confirmation.

TikTok's owner ByteDance said Thursday it had applied for a Chinese technology export license as it tries to complete a deal with Oracle and Walmart to keep the app operating in the US.

TikTok also asked a US judge to block the Trump Administration's attempt to ban the app from Sunday, suggesting that a deal to partner with Oracle and Walmart to form as US company remained unsettled.

The Australian TikTok executives did not directly answer when Ms McAllister asked if the US deal would make TikTok safer for Australian users.

"The deal is ongoing. Unfortunately I'm not privy to the actual content of the discussions and because it is of such a commercially sensitive nature, I unfortunately don't have information that I can share with you at this time," Mr Hunter said.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/tiktok-denies-participation-australia-security-probe-into-china/f93f91f2-14e8-4878-b051-35a2601d8ae0

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10793570 (260347ZSEP20) Notable: Scott Morrison urges sharing of COVID-19 vaccine in his United Nations speech

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Scott Morrison urges sharing of COVID-19 vaccine in his United Nations speech

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told members of the United Nations they have a "moral responsibility" to share any effective vaccine for COVID-19 with the world or face judgement from humanity.

The Prime Minister spoke this morning via video-link to the UN General Assembly, which is being held virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Whoever finds the vaccine must share it. This is a global responsibility, and it's a moral responsibility, for a vaccine to be shared far and wide," Mr Morrison said.

"Some might see short-term advantage, or even profit. I assure you to anyone who may think along those lines, humanity will have a very long memory and be a very, very severe judge."

He added that Australia has pledged to share with the world any discoveries made in its three local COVID-19 vaccine trials.

"If we find the vaccine we will share it. That's the pledge we all must make," he said.

The Australian Government has spent $6 million to help fund the research and development of potential vaccines from the Doherty Institute, the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the University of Sydney.

Morrison defends Australian-led efforts for WHO investigation in China

The Prime Minister also said there is a "clear mandate" for Australian-led efforts to push for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

"Australia strongly advocated for this review … to identify the zoonotic source of the COVID-19 virus and how it was transmitted to humans," he said.

"This virus has inflicted a calamity on our world and its peoples. We must do all we can to understand what happened for no other purpose than to prevent it from happening again."

Despite its initial objections, China ultimately agreed to co-sponsor the resolution at the World Health Assembly in May this year, calling for an independent review into the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

In July, a team of World Health Organisation investigators travelled to the Chinese city of Wuhan, the presumed epicentre for the novel coronavirus.

The WHO probe came amid worsening relations between China and Australia, which saw Beijing impose tariffs on Australian barley, bans on some Australian beef, restrictions on coal and an investigation into wine.

"As we try to control the spread of COVID-19, we also need to shine a spotlight on the dangers of disinformation," the Prime Minister said.

"Disinformation costs lives, and creates a climate of fear and division."

The Prime Minister also delivered pointed comments about China's heavily contested territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific, without mentioning the super-power by name.

"We value rules that protect sovereignty, peace and security, and curb the excessive use of power," he said.

"This includes ensuring that competing territorial and maritime claims are based on, and determined in line with, international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea."

In a letter to the United Nations in July, Australia formerly declared Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea had "no legal basis" and were "inconsistent" with international law.

A UN General Assembly like no other

The UN General Assembly was forced online because of the difficulties in arranging overseas travel during the pandemic.

New York also requires all international visitors arriving in the city to quarantine for 14 days.

The US President Donald Trump, China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin have all delivered their speeches via video link.

Mr Trump praised his handling of the pandemic within the US, and accused Beijing of "allowing flights to leave China and infect the world".

China's President Xi Jinping defended his country's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

He also announced that China aims to see CO2 emissions "peak" before 2030, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-26/scott-morrison-urges-sharing-covid-19-vaccine-united-nations/12706792

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10793715 (260401ZSEP20) Notable: Alarming spike in numbers of online child sex abuse cases - AFP. Warning signs and how you can protect your kids

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Alarming spike in numbers of online child sex abuse cases

Popular social site TikTok has become a honey pot for predators targeting children with authorities reporting alarming cases of child sex abuse. Here are the warning signs and how you can protect your kids.

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A seven-year-old girl dances naked for a TikTok video.

A sobbing teenage girl is blackmailed to film herself putting a hairbrush into her private parts

Little boys are raped by their own parents for a pay-for-view audience of paedophiles on the Dark Web.

Men pose as kids in online games to trick children into meeting them at a local park.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers have seen it all – arresting 161 predators and rescuing 134 children from harm in the past year.

Detective Sergeant Daisie Beckensall is on the front line of the AFP’s war against vile paedophiles grooming Australian children through social media and online games.

The abuse begins with a “friend request’’ on a game or social media, from a stranger masquerading as another child.

“We see a lot of friend requests from online predators looking for children to follow, and the children will usually follow them back,’’ Detective Sergeant Beckensall said yesterday.

“The predator may be posing as a 14-year-old with a fake photo.

“They start chatting online – they build up a rapport with the child, it starts off as an innocent and friendly chat, then they ask, ‘Send me a photo of yourself’.’’

At first the photos are innocuous – perhaps a picture of the child cuddling a pet – but then the paedophile requests a nude “selfie’’.

Sometimes, a naive or curious child will send the photo – and then the blackmail begins.

News Corp Australia is campaigning for a national register of convicted paedophiles to let the public check if a sex offender is living in their suburb, babysitting their grandkids or dating their daughter.

“The predators start with requests for sexualised photos and images and then it escalates to videos of children doing sexualised acts online,’’ Detective Sergeant Beckensall said.

“Once the predators have the photos, they use them to manipulate and put fear into kids.

“They say, ‘If you don’t keep sending them, I can send these photos to your mum and dad’.

“It’s not something they want to tell their parents.’’

Undercover cops, posing as children and teenagers in online chats and games, have caught paedophiles trying to lure kids to meet them in person at a local park, train station or shopping centre.

Detective Sergeant Beckensall said abuse had increased since the start of COVID-19, with so many children cooped up at home with computers and smartphones, and more adults working at home without supervision.

“There are more children being home schooled, and more adults working from home with technology,’’ she said.

“If they’re at work, using a work computer, they aren’t able to access child abuse material.

“But when they’re working from home they don’t have the scrutiny they get in the workplace.

“Some parents are abusing their own children and taking photos and videos and sharing them with other predators.’’

Detective Sergeant Beckensall said some young children were posting naked photos and videos online without any prompting, “because they’ve seen it and think it’s normal’’.

She urged parents to let their children know they can talk about anything, without getting into trouble.

“If you see a change in behaviour, ask them what’s going on,’’ she said.

“It can really dangerously affect a child’s mental health – they don’t want to tell.’’

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10794132 (260440ZSEP20) Notable: Alexander Downer is about to become a household name in America for all the wrong reasons, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: GP_262.jpg, GP_263.jpg, GP_264.jpg

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George Papadopoulos Tweets

It was reported yesterday that the source for the fraudulent Steele dossier, which was the entire basis to spy on a presidential campaign (Australia’s actions I exposed are under criminal investigation now) relied on a man the FBI called a “national security threat.” Insanity.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1309449459525398535

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If you think the Steele dossier info is bad, just wait until Barr and Durham finally reveal the Australian “diplomat” was sent to secretly record my meeting with him and lie about it. The conspiracy against us was global. Bigger than imaginable.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1309497961269792768

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“We talk about the deep state. There are players now, even ambassadors that are sitting ambassadors that were involved in part of this with the FBI and DOJ.”—Mark Meadows in 2018

Alexander Downer is about to become a household name in America for all the wrong reasons.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1309510079390068736

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10794682 (260557ZSEP20) Notable: Change.org petition - Investigate Prince Andrew for the Historic Child Abuse Allegations Levelled Against Him, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: VRG_53.jpg, VRG_54.jpg

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Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweets

100% right! Speak up, now is the time! We have a precious little window where the government has given over $100 million to fight sex trafficking, to those who have yet to find your voice there are over 60 million people living with the same scars I wear, don’t let fear hold u back

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1309606677071556610

Leah Sheffler @LeahSheffler

We need to see more victims speak out, they need to stop living in fear of those with money, they wait to see Virginia's result as Hollywood did with Rose, then it may be too late. HAVE THE COURAGE TO BE HEARD, it will only benefit Virginia's case and aid in a better outcome.

https://twitter.com/LeahSheffler/status/1309602245927870464

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. 60 million people in America alone, the stats world wide are staggering and its only getting worse. We must unite to save more lives. Speak up with me & help end human trafficking & child sexual abuse!! #SaveTheChildren #kids #kidstoo #BillBarr @teresajhelm @elizableu

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1309606678828994562

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Police: Investigate Prince Andrew for the Historic Child Abuse Allegations Levelled Against Him - Sign the Petition! chng.it/yMBygHq6 via @ChangeAUS

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1309623835067523072

Investigate Prince Andrew for the Historic Child Abuse Allegations Levelled Against Him

Recent news coverage and images have revealed that Prince Andrew had been spending time with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in the years prior to Epsteins suicide as he was awaiting trial for child sex allegations. At best this is extremely poor judgement on Andrew's behalf.

Virginia Giuffre, a woman who accused the late financier Jeffrey Epstein of sex abuse has alleged she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew as a 17-year-old, and has urged the UK royal to "come clean" according to a number of news sources, including the BBC.

We would like to insist that the British police investigate Andrew fully for the charges levelled against him, given his longstanding close relationship with Epstein and the allegation from Virginia Giuffre.

Prince Andrew as a member of the Royal family should not enjoy any immunity or protection from criminal investigation due to his Royal status and we demand more action is done from the police to ensure that investigations are opened.

https://www.change.org/p/police-investigate-prince-andrew-for-the-historic-child-abuse-allegations-levelled-against-him

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10794782 (260613ZSEP20) Notable: A warrior culture and the murders that followed: What went wrong with the SAS, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: SAS_soldiers_on_patrol_in_Afghanistan.jpg, The_SAS_insignia_Who_Dares_Wins.jpg

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A warrior culture and the murders that followed: What went wrong with the SAS

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A rogue squad of SAS soldiers is accused of murdering multiple bound or defenceless Afghan detainees, according to insiders who have some knowledge of the landmark Brereton inquiry into war crimes which is due to report within weeks.

The report, by senior judge Paul Brereton, has taken four years to complete and is underpinned by detailed confessions by Commando and Special Air Service Regiment soldiers who have admitted that they participated in or covered up the execution of unarmed prisoners and defenceless Afghans. The killings breach the rules of war and Australia's criminal code.

The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald have also obtained a letter written by Australia's former special forces commander, Jeff Sengelman, who blames the war crimes scandal on a "compromised" chain of command, describes special forces' misdeeds and cover-ups as "shameful and embarrassing", and warns a failure to reform would render the SAS and Commando regiments "strategically irrelevant".

"Many have opined to me that the unacceptable behaviours ... were somehow justified by operational imperatives, our sacrifice, and the stressors associated with combat operations," Mr Sengelman wrote in the April 2016 letter.

"While I am not insensitive to how this attitude may have arisen and am the first to acknowledge the exceptional commitment and sacrifice that operational service has required; this is not and never will be a satisfactory justification for deviation from standards or unacceptable behaviour. This cannot be in doubt. If it is for you, then we need to speak."

While the contents of the Brereton report will remain classified after Justice Brereton hands it to Defence Force Chief Angus Campbell in coming weeks, some insiders have received general briefings about its findings and it is believed Justice Brereton will identify a small group of rogue SAS soldiers as responsible for multiple murders.

Justice Brereton is expected to send several war crimes referrals to the Australian Federal Police, sparking new police investigations in a move likely to require the AFP to dramatically boost the resourcing of its existing war crimes investigation teams. Those teams have been conducting two war crimes investigations since June 2018 into Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith after referrals by now former defence chief Mark Binskin. Mr Roberts-Smith denies all wrongdoing and is suing Nine Entertainment, the owner of this masthead, for publishing allegations that he is a war criminal, a key target of the Brereton inquiry and that he punched a woman in a domestic violence incident.

Defence has spent months planning its public response to the independent Brereton inquiry report, according to Defence sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. The sources anticipate a summary of Mr Brereton's findings will be released to the public.

The Age and Herald have interviewed more than a dozen serving and former insiders who have some knowledge of the findings and defence's anticipated response. The Brereton report is expected to expose:

* a rogue group of SAS soldiers, variously consisting of four to five men, executed multiple bound or defenceless prisoners to boost "kill counts" – a personal tally of Afghans shot dead – with no regard for the laws of armed conflict;

* a small number of commandos and SAS soldiers executed prisoners believing more senior soldiers had given tacit support for unlawful killings; and

* poor leadership and oversight, with some officers blind to warning signs that pointed to a collapse in basic morality among small soldier cliques.

The sources said they did not believe senior or mid-level officers had direct knowledge about war crimes. The evidence suggests small cliques of soldiers with relatively low ranks either participated in or witnessed war crimes but covered them up from the chain of command.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10794842 (260624ZSEP20) Notable: Grooming, paedophilia and child exploitation on the rise in Tasmania say AFP top cops, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Detective_Sergeant_Aaron_Hardcastle_who_is_based_in_Hobart_in_relation_to_the_Australian_Federal_Police_s_Child_Protection_Operations_teams.jpg

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Grooming, paedophilia and child exploitation on the rise in Tasmania say AFP top cops

Society has “an increasing appetite” for child pornography, one of Tasmania’s top cops says, as he reveals how children are being targeted, and why their disgusting actions are on the rise.

TASMANIA’S most vulnerable are being targeted by depraved predators – and their disgusting actions are on the rise.

Detective Sergeant Aaron Hardcastle, officer in charge of the Australian Federal Police Tasmania, is on the front line in protecting children from child exploitation.

In the 2019-2020 financial year, there were nine arrests and 35 charges made in Tasmania.

However across the country, there were more than 161 arrests, 1214 charges, and 134 children removed from harm.

“Unfortunately society has an increasing appetite for this type of material, particularly in the online space,” he said.

“It’s becoming a real issue with the volume of material. In years gone by we’ve seen in the thousands of files when we’re prosecuting offenders, but these days we’re seeing in the tens to hundreds of thousands of files.

“In the grooming space, we’re seeing a fairly steady growth in that area as well.”

Detective Inspector Hardcastle said predators often approached children online through social media or forums.

Their main method of communication was text, with paedophiles than able to remain anonymous or pretend to be someone else.

“The introduction happens on the site or the app, and generally what will happen is the offenders will start to move the kids off into private chats. That’s when the real offending starts to occur. That’s when you start seeing demands,” he said.

“Once any images are sent, they’re sent forever. The child has no control over that image anymore – that image in control of the offender.”

The coronavirus pandemic has lead to both an increase in grooming and access to exploitation material, with a 280 per cent increase in workload for the AFP since this time last year.

And it isn’t just Tasmanian predators targeting Tasmanian children.

“It’s people from all around the world,” Detective Sergeant Hardcastle said.

“We’ve had cases here where people in Tasmania are grooming children on the other side of the world, and we’ve also had people on the other side of the world grooming Tasmanian kids.

“The internet doesn’t have a boundary.”

Detective Inspector Hardcastle said his role was one of the toughest to take on as a police officer – especially as a proud parent himself.

“But it’s also the most rewarding, because you’re making a real difference to kids and allowing kids to grow up the way they should be able to, to be safe and happy,” he said.

“As part of combating this type of crime we’ve got a joint anti-child exploitation team, between the AFP and Tasmania Police.

“It’s really important for the Tasmanian community to know we’re working tirelessly to combat this type of crime.

“It’s abhorrent, and something no child should be subjected to, and that no police officer should have to witness.”

He said his advice for children was to trust your instincts.

“If something is going wrong, if your instincts are telling you something isn’t right – it probably isn’t,” he said.

“If it doesn’t feel right, tell somebody – somebody needs to know so the situation can be dealt with.

“Not everybody on the internet is who they say they are, or who they may appear to be.

“There are some pretty nasty predators out there who are targeting the vulnerable people.”

https://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/grooming-paedophilia-and-child-exploitation-on-the-rise-in-tasmania-say-afp-top-cops/news-story/7baf899b1c87834cd49c5aa15489c43d

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10794991 (260655ZSEP20) Notable: Darwin man charged with exit trafficking his wife from Australia to India

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Darwin man charged with exit trafficking his wife from Australia to India

A 28-year-old Darwin man has appeared before Darwin Local Court for allegedly exit trafficking his wife to India in 2019 and stealing more than $60,000 from her and other relatives.

Detectives from Australian Federal Police (AFP) Human Trafficking Operations began investigations in March 2020, following a report from a member of the public in Darwin.

It will be alleged in court the man was physically abusive to his 27-year-old wife and used coercion and threats to garnish her wages, access bank accounts and gain money from her family.

The AFP alleges the man deceived the woman into flying to India in February 2019, under the pretense of organising visas for travel to the United States.

The man did not travel to India and it will be alleged he provided false and misleading information to the Federal Circuit Court, where he commenced divorce proceedings in January 2020.

The 28-year-old man appeared at Darwin Local Court on Friday charged with:

One count of trafficking in persons (exit from Australia) contrary to section 271.2(1A) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) for facilitating the exit of the woman from Australia to India through the use of deception.

The maximum penalty for this offence is 12 years imprisonment.

The woman has since returned to Australia and is receiving ongoing support from the AFP and Red Cross (through their Support for Trafficked People Program).

Detective Superintendent Paula Hudson, of AFP Northern Command said AFP officers worked closely with the Department of Home Affairs, along with non-government organisations to investigate this matter.

“Partnerships are critical to the effective investigation of human trafficking offences and the AFP continues to build strong working relationships to investigate these offences,” Detective Superintendent Hudson said.

“This is a reminder that forcing someone to leave Australia using coercion, threats or deception is an offence under our laws, and Commonwealth human trafficking offences and penalties apply.”

“Human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices are happening here in Australia and it is up to all of us to work together to protect people who are vulnerable to these exploitative crime types. If you or someone you know could be a victim of this crime type, please report it by calling 131 AFP (237).”

The AFP is an active member of the Interdepartmental Committee on Human Trafficking and Slavery and Operational Working Groups.

For the financial year 2019/2020, the AFP received 223 reports of human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like offences.

The AFP works with international partners through the AFP’s international network, Department of Foreign Affairs and other organisations, including the Santa Marta Group, to promote awareness for and combat modern slavery and human trafficking.

Editor’s note: Vision of the arrest and warrant are available via Hightail - https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/hJOyuvQdqe

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/darwin-man-charged-exit-trafficking-his-wife-australia-india

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10795091 (260715ZSEP20) Notable: Cocks and Stirrers: Markers on the path to the SAS going rogue, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Australian_SAS_soldiers_on_patrol_near_Bagram_Afghanistan.jpg

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>>179591

Cocks and Stirrers: Markers on the path to the SAS going rogue

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Looking back, the 2010 “Stirrer’s Parade” was one of the earliest obvious signposts that something was going badly wrong in the Special Air Services Regiment, Australia’s elite fighting force.

It was the best part of a decade into the conflict in Afghanistan, and Special Forces – the SAS and Commandos – had deployed 15 separate rotations and was already weary. But proud too. Multiple honours and awards had come their way. Though worn they were battle hardened and still eager for the fight.

In December that year the SAS Regiment’s annual "Stirrer’s Parade" was three months late. Usually held on the regimental birthdate of September 4, this time it was delayed to await the return of 1 Squadron.

The gathering was meant to get stuff off the collective chest. At its best, it was an opportunity for subtle, take-the-piss feedback to inform future operations. But too readily it could turn nasty. It had happened before.

A perennial problem with Australia’s premier regiment was the power of the Sergeants Mess. Medalled, experienced and often revered, the job of keeping the sergeants in check was tougher than usual for the officers. In contrast to a linear line of command in conventional forces, the Special Forces command structure is more flexible, the requirement for agility giving greater authority and autonomy to those participating in the close fight.

A feature of the Parade was the annual “Cock of the Year” award, which was as rude as it sounds and in 2010 was “awarded” to a young officer who was otherwise respected as an experienced soldier. More to the point though, he was principled in holding his soldiers to account for their moral or ethical failings.

The award was an attack on a junior leader. But what was most telling was the silence from on high. Senior officers let it happen, and by doing so, signalled who was really in charge and reinforced a growing sense of entitlement among the operators.

In future, junior officers would be more than aware of the opprobrium associated with offending the warriors. "Likership" over leadership, an eternal challenge for command, was unleashed. Other junior leaders, such as now Federal MP Andrew Hastie, who also took a stand on doing the right thing, would also cop the brunt of the so-called non-commissioned officer, or NCO "Mafia".

Ethics, morals and integrity

Six years later, in April 2016 Special Operations Commander Major General Jeff Sengelman sent a remarkably prescient letter. It came in response to an earlier request to serving members of the Special Air Service Regiment to speak up truthfully about rumours of rogue behaviour in Afghanistan.

The rumours, in effect, were some of these revered dogs of war had slipped the leash.

"Others have expressed to me that the need to be an exceptional warrior at the pinnacle of the tradecraft and adept at finding, fixing and finishing the enemy is the premier and dominant characteristic that should define who we are and our culture," Sengelman's letter said.

"While I agree this has its place, let me be absolutely clear, there is much more to being a role model for [Special Operations Forces] attributes than martial prowess.

"Given a choice between this and ethical behaviour, moral outlook, or integrity of character, martial prowess will always be secondary."

Weeks after that letter was sent, the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force commenced an inquiry into "rumours of possible breaches of the Laws of Armed Conflict". Now, four years later we are on the eve of what many predict will be a harrowing finding, with Sengelman’s words still resonating.

The narrative spun about the Inspector-General's inquiry until now includes a complex maze of interwoven arguments about Australia needing to know the truth and the preservation of moral authority, versus how much do we really need to know about what occurs on the battlefield and that no good can come of second guessing our heroes.

The ingrained secrecy associated with Special Operations and the subsequent clamour of public debate has made for some confusion.

So let's try to peer through the fog of war at where the SAS started to go wrong. And in doing so after tracking this for some time, two incidents stand out as pivotal to us: the Stirrer’s parade of 2010, and one other key moment: the awarding of the Victoria Cross to Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10804202 (270102ZSEP20) Notable: 'Playing with fire': The curious marriage of QAnon and wellness - Sophie Aubrey - smh.com.au, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: QAnon_has_made_its_way_into_the_wellness_space.jpg, Emma_Moulday_has_noticed_fellow_yogis_are_falling_down_the_conspiracy_rabbit_hole.jpg

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'Playing with fire': The curious marriage of QAnon and wellness

A far-right conspiracy movement has found a seemingly unlikely home in a space normally known for its gratitude mantras, downward dogs and green smoothies.

Sophie Aubrey - SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

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At first, yoga teacher Emma Moulday couldn’t understand what was happening. Suddenly her peers – people she respected – were filling her social media feeds with anti-mask messages and calling COVID-19 a hoax. Then there were the hashtags to #SaveTheChildren and videos claiming actor Tom Hanks eats children.

“I thought, ‘what the hell is going on?’ It was like watching a really bad accident.”

That’s when Moulday found out about QAnon, a far-right conspiracy movement that has been proliferating around the world.

“I was really surprised that people who I thought were intelligent, mindful and discerning were so far down the garden path and really actively promoting it,” Moulday says.

Up until this year, QAnon largely existed on the internet’s fringes after an unidentified poster named “Q” began pushing coded theories in 2017. The core belief is that there is a cabal of Satan-worshipping paedophiles – made up of global political, business and Hollywood elites – who run the world, operate a child sex trafficking ring and are fighting President Donald Trump from bringing them down.

Today, on a backdrop of the worldwide pandemic, the spread of far-right thinking and crippling global uncertainty, its narratives have trickled into the mainstream on social media, including in Australia.

Lydia Khalil, research fellow at Deakin University and the Lowy Institute, says QAnon has grown louder by attaching itself to scepticism about the pandemic and fears over 5G and vaccination to feed the idea that there are more insidious motives at play.

“Clever movements will pick up on what’s happening currently to fit it into their conspiracies … It gives them a way to legitimise what they’re arguing,” Khalil says. “Over the past few months obviously everyone has been on the internet a whole lot more, so what we’ve started to see is this explosion and spread of QAnon content.”

Khalil says the conspiracy has now found a seemingly unlikely home in a space normally known for its gratitude mantras, downward dogs and green smoothies: the world of wellness – and its infiltration has begun to cause fierce division within the community.

A division in the wellness space

Moulday – who has been a yoga teacher for 20 years and runs a studio, Yoga Flame, in Melbourne’s Moonee Ponds – says the spread of QAnon conspiracies in her industry is “disappointing”.

“The whole thing is really sad,” she says. “It feels all very wrong and feels counter to everything you’d stand for as a yoga teacher. I want to help people, and help them feel steady and calm. They’re the skills that will help people right now.”

Moulday estimates a quarter of people she follows from the yoga community are posting conspiracies, and she says she has been slammed for posting a light comment supporting masks.

“I haven’t seen anything like this before. I know there are alternative beliefs and viewpoints but not people ... being so intimidating and aggressive in their viewpoints.”

Vanessa Hollo, a Melbourne yoga teacher who works in community health, has been equally disturbed.

“Beautiful, caring people were suddenly saying that COVID isn’t real,” Hollo says. “Yoga practice can help people deal with stress and isolation and anxiety and instead it’s being hijacked by misinformation and fear.”

Hollo was one of many to last week share a viral statement created by US wellness influencers to come out against QAnon.

“Our hearts are breaking from the rampant misinformation that is dividing our community,” the statement says.

Sarah Wilson, who became an Australian wellness figure off the back of her I Quit Sugar empire, says she has been bombarded by conspiracy thinking on social media, believing it may partially be triggered by Victoria’s second lockdown.

“It’s happening way more than I could have ever anticipated. It’s not just a handful of people,” Wilson says.

“I’ve looked at a lot of them thinking they’re going to be bots. But they’re not. They have large followings … These are people who genuinely believe in this information.”

Wilson, whose new book This Wild And Precious Life explores our increasingly disconnected society, says she is alarmed by how wide-ranging QAnon followers are.

“This is across the spectrum... That’s what’s most alarming. These aren’t otherwise extreme people.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10807158 (270650ZSEP20) Notable: Heartbreaking video - Elderly woman in medical care prevented from embracing her son due to COVID-19 restrictions

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Repost from Q Research General #13830

>>110511 (pb)

This cruelty is so vile I can’t stand it. This happened to thousands of lost and bewildered elderly cut off from their families so #KillerCuomo could play politics with their lives. He should be in prison.

https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/1310057476247576577

>https://twitter.com/SineadIreland_/status/1309873641237217280

>https://www.instagram.com/p/CFmqo3Jg9sz/

>https://www.facebook.com/jayson.fyffe/posts/3201487293301071

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10818136 (280446ZSEP20) Notable: Triumphant George Pell returns to the Vatican amid financial scandal

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Triumphant Pell returns to the Vatican amid financial scandal

A triumphant George Pell heads back to the Vatican this week to face enemies who hoped he’d rot in jail. But the shoe’s on the other foot this time, writes Andrew Bolt.

1/2

On Tuesday George Pell flies back to Rome, a challenge to powerful enemies now caught in the Vatican’s worst financial scandal in decades.

Those enemies hoped Cardinal Pell, the Vatican’s former corruption buster, would rot in an Australian jail on suspiciously false charges of child sexual abuse.

But Pell returns in triumph, and it’s his nemesis, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who could now face jail instead.

And once again, former Vatican officials ask: is there a connection to this scandal and Pell’s legal nightmare in Australia?

Pell was the Vatican’s fourth most powerful man, overseeing church finances, until Victoria Police charged him in 2017 with 26 charges of sexual abuse against nine different “victims”.

Pell stepped down and returned to Australia in July 2017 to clear his name, only to spend 405 days in jail for a crime he could not have committed.

For some at the Vatican, having Pell disappear was extremely convenient.

He’d been leading an audit of Vatican finances and uncovered extensive corruption, possibly involving even the Mafia.

Pell warned Pope Francis, adding: beware of Becciu, second in charge of the Secretariat of State.

Pell was alarmed by one of Becciu’s property deals – a luxury development in London, bought with loans from a Swiss bank with a record of violating money-laundering and fraud safeguards.

Becciu apparently tried to disguise those loans by cancelling them out against the property’s value.

Other Becciu deals also looked weird, including financial transfers to buy an Italian hospital that then collapsed, riddled with theft and fraud, leaving an astonishing $1.3 billion debt.

Becciu had even placed his niece as the secretary to the church’s representative at the hospital. He’s also accused of steering other Vatican business to his three brothers.

Becciu fought back. In 2016, he unilaterally cancelled an external audit of Vatican departments commissioned by Pell.

Pell asked the Pope to back him up, but Francis refused.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10830920 (290320ZSEP20) Notable: Owner of some of Australia’s biggest retail brands slammed as ‘unethical’

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The owner of some of Australia’s most iconic retail brands has been savaged for banking millions in taxpayer funds while posting record profits.

Just Jeans, Smiggle owner slammed as ‘unethical’

One of Australia’s largest retailers has been slammed as “unethical” for posting record profits while taking up to six months to pay suppliers.

Premier Investments, which owns shopping centre staples including Just Jeans, Smiggle and Peter Alexander, has rarely been out of the headlines in the last few weeks.

Last Friday, the firm, chaired by retail veteran Solomon Lew, announced a 29 per cent surge in profits to $137.8 million.

That’s despite the company being a major beneficiary of taxpayers’ cash through the JobKeeper wage subsidy program designed to keep people in work during the coronavirus pandemic.

While banking some big bucks, Premier has also cried poor saying it could close up to 350 stores unless its rents come down while declaring landlords “will be responsible for job losses” if the shops shut.

The company, that also owns Portmans, Dotti and Jay Jays, also refused to pay rent on any store in April after it closed all of them during the national lockdown.

But Premier has defended its actions saying there was “unprecedented uncertainty” from the pandemic which led them to seek “support from suppliers for temporary flexibility in payment terms”.

It says it has “progressed towards” usual terms but some reports have said that could still be up to four months from delivery to payment.

https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/just-jeans-smiggle-owner-slammed-as-unethical/news-story/122bfae963ee73e52deaf0fb7efb3785

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10831100 (290337ZSEP20) Notable: Lisa Barsoomian in Gumshoe News - Mentions Alexander Downer, 2001-2005 and Clinton Foundation

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—Lisa Barsoomian in Gumshoe News==

Mentions Aleanader Downer, 2001-2005 and Clinton Foundation.

The Revolving Door of Protection For the Clinton Foundation

https://gumshoenews.com/2018/08/28/the-revolving-door-of-protection-for-the-clinton-foundation/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10832076 (290548ZSEP20) Notable: Julian Assange extradition: US must prove leaked material was ‘closely held’ information, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: WikiLeaks_founder_Julian_Assange.jpg, Chelsea_Manning.jpg

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Julian Assange extradition: US must prove leaked material was ‘closely held’ information

The United States government must prove three elements of “national defence” before a jury in order to convict WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under the Espionage Act, the Old Bailey has heard.

The court also heard that the imposition of Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) in the United States — a form of highly-restrictive gag orders on prisoners, their lawyers and relatives — did not violate due process.

Assange, 49, is contesting his extradition to the US where he faces 18 charges under the Espionage Act. The US prosecution told the court the charges against Assange focus on his complicity in Chelsea Manning’s theft and unlawful disclosure of national defence information; his knowing and receipt of national defence information from Manning; his agreement with Manning to engage in a conspiracy to commit computer hacking, and his attempt to crack a hash passcode.

Manning, a US military analyst found guilty under the Espionage Act of disclosing military and government documents, had her 35-year sentence commuted by US president Barack Obama.

But in a new affidavit presented to the court on Monday, the Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, Gordon Kromberg, said national defence information must satisfy three criteria of US case law for a jury conviction in the Assange case.

He said the documents must generally relate to military matters or related activities of national preparedness, which broadly included information dealing with military matters and more generally with matters relating to US foreign policy and intelligence capabilities.

In addition, the information must be “closely held” by the US government and that disclosure of the documents must be potentially damaging to the US or potentially useful to an enemy of the US.

Mr Kromberg said Assange would be able to present evidence, cross-examination, and argument that the United States had failed to prove any or all of those elements.

Mr Kromberg also presented a 35-page statement rebutting some evidence provided by Assange witness Joel Sickler about the conditions within Alexandria prison, where Assange may be held pre-trial, and at ADX Colorado, where it is speculated Assange may be housed if convicted.

Mr Sickler said when a prisoner was held in administrative segregation at Alexandria prison, it was “very arduous, almost torturous conditions”. He added: “It’s going to be deleterious to Assange.”

“SAMs have severe psychological effects on an individual, and can greatly affect a client’s ability to deal with the issues surrounding his federal case.” he said.

“Frequently, due to the stress of this type of confinement, the government has found inmates will often change their plea and co-operate with the government.”

Mr Kromberg said only a tiny fraction of federal inmates were the subject of SAMs and said as at September 1, 2020, only 47 of the 156,083 inmates were under SAMs.

He said inmates could contest SAMs and multiple, multi-level review processes provided procedural safeguards.

The trial continues.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/julian-assange-extradition-us-must-prove-leaked-material-was-closely-held-information/news-story/32c25e4ea572da4419f153a93f2d1ac9

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10832126 (290557ZSEP20) Notable: Cardinal George Pell returns to Rome for first time since child sex abuse convictions quashed, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Cardinal_Pell_leaves_court_after_a_hearing.jpg

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>>179575

>>179599

Cardinal George Pell returns to Rome for first time since child sex abuse convictions quashed

Cardinal George Pell will return to Rome today for the first time since 2017 when he was accused of child sexual abuse charges.

A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Sydney confirmed Cardinal Pell will fly out of Sydney today, but the purpose and duration of the visit is not known.

Cardinal Pell was leading the Secretariat of State, set up to reform the Vatican's finances, when he took a leave of absence in 2017 to face charges of child sexual abuse.

The 79-year-old was convicted of sexually abusing two choir boys in the 1990s and was sentenced to six years in prison.

He had served 13 months of his sentence when his conviction was overturned by the High Court in April.

He has been living in Sydney since his release.

Christopher Lamb is the Rome correspondent for Catholic news publication The Tablet and said all eyes would be on Cardinal Pell as he arrived in Rome.

"The Cardinal has a number of supporters in Rome and some very loyal followers," Lamb said.

"There will be a number of them who will be delighted to see him return — they always were very sceptical of the charges that were brought against him.

"However there will be others who will be concerned about the optics of a return by Cardinal Pell to Rome and the Vatican … particularly if the cardinal has a meeting, an audience, with Pope Francis."

Vatican correspondent Joshua McElwee, from US newspaper the National Catholic Reporter, said Cardinal Pell was no longer employed by the Vatican and the reason for his visit was not clear.

"At the moment he has no official role here," McElwee said.

"Very likely he's coming to put his affairs in order. I imagine he still has personal items here, things to bring home, perhaps an apartment to clean up.

"I don't know what else he would be doing other than those kind of things."

Uncertain times for the Vatican

Cardinal Pell's return to Rome comes just days after the resignation of Cardinal Angelo Becciu who has been implicated in allegations of financial misconduct at the Vatican.

Cardinal Becciu previously worked in the Vatican's Secretariat of State where he reportedly clashed with Cardinal Pell over reform of the Vatican's finances.

But McElwee said it was not clear whether Cardinal Pell's visit was connected to Cardinal Becciu's resignation on Saturday.

"It's known that Cardinal Pell and Cardinal Becciu butted horns when Cardinal Pell was in Rome," McElwee said.

"Becciu apparently was involved in some kind of alleged financial misdeeds and Pell has said that he raised issues about those at the time.

"It could be that Cardinal Pell is taking a victory lap here in Rome, but I don't think it's going to be more than a short visit."

Lamb said Cardinal Pell's visit coincided with a period of uncertainty in Pope Francis's pontificate, with many speculating Cardinal Pell could be seeking to influence the outcome of a future conclave to decide the next Pope.

"Cardinal Pell is not someone who is openly disloyal to Pope Francis and has worked for Pope Francis," Lamb said.

"But it is no secret that he has a different vision of the Church to the Pope and I suppose some people will be looking to see whether the Cardinal is involved in any pre-conclave manoeuvres, given we are almost eight years into Pope Francis's pontificate.

"There is a battle going on and the Cardinal is certainly seen by those who don't like Francis as someone who is an ally."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-29/cardinal-george-pell-heads-to-rome-first-time-since-acquittal/12712604

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10832302 (290638ZSEP20) Notable: Video: The Comey Rule - Scene recreating the London meeting between George Papadopoulos and Alexander Downer

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‘The Comey Rule’ Is Distorted Liberal Fantasy of Lies, Made Up Scenes

In what The Guardian called “the longest and most star-studded attack ad in history,” the Showtime limited series The Comey Rule is full of distortions and liberal fantasies of what they wish had really happened in the FBI investigations into Hillary Clinton’s email server and Donald Trump’s involvement with Russia.

The show follows disgraced former FBI Director James Comey’s autobiography A Higher Loyalty, which was released in 2018. “Night One” premiered on September 27 and covered the time period leading up to election night, with its second and final installment to follow on Monday, September 28, to deal with the fallout after.

The liberal cast and crew fought to have the special air before the election after news that Showtime's parent company ViacomCBS planned to push it past the election. Lefty actor Jeff Daniels stars as Comey and he’s made his politics clear when making the rounds promoting his election special.

Writer and director Billy Ray is a dyed in the wool leftist believer in the Russian collusion conspiracy, telling The Guardian, “The tipping point in that election, the deciding factor, was the infiltration by the Russians. That came directly from James Clapper [ex-director of national intelligence]; that’s not a matter of conjecture; that’s fact. And they’re trying to do it again in 2020.” It’s 2020 and this guy still believes Clapper? Yup, his trust in what CNN and MSNBC were peddling the last several years is made clear in The Comey Rule.

For example, his scene recreating the London meeting between George Papadopoulos and Alexander Downer relies on a debunked narrative that Papadopoulos told Downer the Trump campaign knew about the DNC email hacks ahead of time and was coordinating with the Russians on them. This is what the Crossfire Hurricane FBI investigation into Trump was supposedly based on. In actuality, all Papadopoulos told Downer was that Russia had damaging information on Hillary Clinton, which was then retroactively assumed to be the DNC emails after the hacks were released despite the suggestion that it could have been a reference to Hillary’s missing 33,000 deleted emails from her private server.

Notice the explicitly false details inserted into the script:

Downer: So, uh, you were saying, uh, Russia?:

Papadopoulos: Russia. Wow, are those guys smart. Do you, uh… You know Professor Mifsud? Joseph Mifsud?

Downer: Uh, no, afraid I don't. Is he Russian?

Papadopoulos: Maltan. Or Maltese. Maltanese. He's from fucking Malta, but he has connections in Russia. All the way up to Putin. We've been talking for months.

Downer: What about?

Papadopoulos: Hillary.

Downer: In what context?

Papadopoulos: Russia's got dirt on her. Lots of embarrassing stuff. Thousands of e-mails. And they made them all available to us.

Downer: Well, how did they get them?

Papadopoulos: Hacked straight out of the DNC and the Clinton campaign.

Downer: And the Russians are making them available to you?

Papadopoulos: "We have dirt on Hillary, and we want to help." That's a quote. They said they could release it anonymously, some big data dump on the Internet timed to do maximum damage to her.

Downer: Who else knows about this, George?

Papadopoulos: That's the beauty of it. No one. God bless America.

(continued)

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/alexa-moutevelis/2020/09/28/comey-rule-distorted-liberal-fantasy-lies-made-scenes

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10832471 (290734ZSEP20) Notable: Video: Australian Federal Police - National Police Remembrance Day 2020 - #NeverForgotten

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Fallen police honoured on National Police Remembrance Day

Tuesday, 29 September 2020

National Police Remembrance Day will today pay tribute to police who lost their lives in the line of duty, including four Victorian officers who will be immortalised at the National Police Memorial in Canberra.

Two services will be held to honour the fallen, including Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Glen Humphris and Constable Josh Prestney, who were killed on duty at a vehicle stop on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway on April 22 this year. It was the biggest loss of life in a single event for Victoria Police.

They will be memorialised on the National Police Memorial Wall, which will now enshrine 798 names of fallen police who made the ultimate sacrifice for the communities they served.

Touchstone plaques honouring the four Victorian officers will be escorted in a motorcade from the Australian Federal Police College in Barton to the National Police Memorial in Kings Park.

Each touchstone, which includes the rank, date of death and place of death of the fallen, will be driven separately in a Highway Patrol car, reflecting the officers’ roles and service as part of Victoria Police Highway Patrol. The touchstones will be mounted on to a large, stone, paved shrine. The AFP is the custodian of the wall.

The commemorations will continue with the National Police Remembrance Day Dusk Service, to be held at the National Police Memorial at 4.30pm.

Police commissioners and representatives from most policing jurisdictions will be unable to pay their respects in person this year because of COVID-19 restrictions. The commissioners have instead sent virtual messages, available here, to be screened at today’s ceremony.

https://www.facebook.com/AusFedPolice/videos/345740340112932/

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw APM said National Police Remembrance Day was a time to pay tribute to police who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“Today we remember those whose lives were cut tragically short because they were serving their community,’’ Mr Kershaw said.

“There are 798 names on the National Police Memorial Wall, 798 too many. There are too many families who no longer have a father, mother, husband or wife.

“To those families who have lost loved ones, we grieve with you. We also reflect on their commitment to duty and striving every day to keep the public safe.

“In particular, we stand with the families and loved ones of the four Victoria Police officers who were tragically taken from us earlier this year. While we can never take away the weight of your loss, across Australia, the entire policing family, is here to support you.”

Members of the public are encouraged to virtually attend this year’s service via livestream.

National Police Remembrance Day

https://vimeo.com/event/299960

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/fallen-police-honoured-national-police-remembrance-day

—

Australian Federal Police - National Police Remembrance Day 2020

On National Police Remembrance Day we remember those whose lives were cut tragically short while serving their community.

Shockwaves reverberated through the Australian policing community in April, when Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Glen Humphris and Constable Josh Prestney, were killed on duty at a vehicle stop on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway on 22 April.

It was the biggest loss of life in a single event for Victoria Police.

These officers were children, siblings, partners and friends. That didn’t stop when they put on the uniform, and the sadness of their loss remains. To those families who have lost loved ones, we grieve with you. While we can never take away the weight of your loss, across Australia, the entire policing family, is here to support you.

To those who continue to serve, we thank you.

#NeverForgotten

https://www.facebook.com/AusFedPolice/videos/345740340112932/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10851537 (300616ZSEP20) Notable: Secret witnesses to testify about plot to 'kidnap or poison' Assange, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: A_man_holds_a_photograph_of_WikiLeaks_founder_Julian_Assange_during_a_protest_in_Brussels_demanding_he_be_freed.jpg, Chinese_artist_Ai_Weiwei_supporting_Julian_Assange_outside_the_hearing_at_the_Old_Bailey_in_London.jpg

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Secret witnesses to testify about plot to 'kidnap or poison' Assange

London: The judge hearing Julian Assange's extradition hearing in London has agreed to hear in secret the evidence of two Spanish witnesses, relating to an alleged plot to kidnap or poison the Australian while he was holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy.

The witnesses were granted anonymity in a court hearing underway in Spain against former Spanish military officer David Morales. The British court heard the pair feared for their safety and that of their families, and were at times under armed protection.

The court was told the pair feared retribution by David Morales, the owner of a Spanish security firm Undercover Global, also known as UC Global, which is accused of spying on Assange while contracted to provide security at the embassy.

Morales is accused of passing information about Assange to a third-party which Italian newspaper la Repubblica has reported as being the CIA.

According to a statement read out by Mark Summers, a QC representing Assange, the pair will detail conversations between "Morales and his American friends" about plans to either "kidnap or poison" Assange.

"What you're going to find is that the man has army connections and a search of his house uncovered loaded firearm," Summers said.

Judge Vanessa Baraitser agreed to grant their anonymity even though she said it was "remarkably easy" to identify both as former employees of the firm from evidence already on the record.

She said that "witness one" held a 50 per cent stake in the firm and sold it to Morales in 2019. "How is it possible that Mr Morales does not know who he is?" Baraitser asked the QC representing Assange.

The second witness, Baraitser said, was a former IT worker at UC Global. "How many people does that apply to do you think?"

Summers said that was the key to the witnesses' protection.

"If harm comes to them, it will be frankly obvious from whom it has come. The publication, by contrast, of their names removes that form of protection and we understand that this is something that is well known to the Spanish court," Summers said.

"The knowledge that Morales must have that he is the only one who has possession of their names ... at present ... is successfully protecting them," he said.

"I'm with you," Baraitser said. "In my view, the genuine need for anonymity comes not so much from a justified fear from the safety of witnesses but from the fact that protection measures for both witnesses have already been granted by a Spanish court."

The United States government would know the true names of the witnesses and would be able to challenge their evidence in private.

But James Lewis, the QC representing the US government, reiterated that the evidence could only be contested in the understanding that the prosecution did not deal with any US agency other than the Department of Justice.

"There is a Chinese wall between the prosecution and any other agencies which may have come into — without confirming or denying whether they have or not — any intelligence or other material," Lewis said.

"It has the consequence that I have no instructions whether what they say is right or wrong, therefore it will simply be put into evidence on that basis," he said.

Assange's long-running extradition hearing is drawing to a close. Final evidence will be given for the remainder of this week but could conclude a day earlier on Thursday.

The judge will not make a ruling on Assange's extradition until after the US Presidential election.

Assange's team is arguing this his prosecution, relating to the publication of more than half a million military and diplomatic cables on the WikiLeaks website a decade ago, is political.

They say that under former US president Barack Obama, the Department of Justice never pursued the 49-year-old. Assange is facing 18 charges that carry a maximum 175 years in jail.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/secret-witnesses-to-testify-about-plot-to-kidnap-or-poison-assange-20200929-p560gc.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10858846 (302017ZSEP20) Notable: Alexander Downer (“insurance policy”) is about to become a household name in America for all the wrong reasons, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: GP_265.jpg

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George Papadopoulos Tweet

“We talk about the deep state. There are players now, even ambassadors that are sitting ambassadors that were involved in this with the FBI and DOJ.”—Mark Meadows

Alexander Downer (“insurance policy”) is about to become a household name in America for all the wrong reasons.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1311371421575192578

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10866223 (010639ZOCT20) Notable: Acquitted Cardinal Pell back in Rome amid Vatican scandal, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Cardinal_George_Pell_waves_as_he_arrives_in_Rome_following_a_flight_from_Australia.jpg

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Acquitted Cardinal Pell back in Rome amid Vatican scandal

Rome: Cardinal George Pell, the former Vatican finance tsar who left in 2017 to face child sexual abuse charges in Australia, has returned to Rome after his acquittal to find a Vatican mired in a corruption scandal.

The 79-year-old Pell arrived at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport on a flight from Sydney wearing a blue surgical mask. He waved briefly to reporters before getting into a waiting car without making any comments.

The trip is his first back to Rome after he took a leave of absence as Pope Francis' finance czar in 2017 to face historic sexual abuse charges stemming from his time as the archbishop of Melbourne. Pell, who maintained his innocence throughout, said after he was absolved by the High Court that he wanted to clean out his Vatican apartment but intended to make Sydney his home.

Pell arrived the same day that European anti-money laundering evaluators began a periodic visit to the Vatican. They, too, found a mounting financial scandal in the tiny city-state that already has cost a half a dozen people their jobs, including one of the Holy See's most powerful cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Becciu.

Pell and Becciu had long clashed over the Australian's efforts to bring greater transparency and accountability to the Vatican's balance sheets.

The Council of Europe's Moneyval team will be checking the Vatican's compliance with international norms to fight money laundering and terror financing.

The Vatican submitted to the Moneyval evaluation process after it signed onto the 2009 EU Monetary Convention and in a bid to shed its image as a financially shady offshore tax haven whose bank has long been embroiled in scandal.

Moneyval has generally given the Holy See positive to mixed reviews in its periodic evaluations. Its main criticism in recent years has been directed against the Vatican's criminal tribunal, which it faulted for failing to prosecute many cases despite receiving dozens of suspicious transaction reports from the Vatican's financial watchdog.

Vatican prosecutors last year opened a corruption investigation into the Holy See's investment in a London real estate venture, but to date no one has been indicted.

The Vatican's secretariat of state has sunk more than €350 million (nearly $575 million) into the London venture, much of it donations from the faithful. Tens of millions of dollars were paid in fees to Italian businessmen who acted as middlemen in the real estate deal.

Last week, Pope Francis fired Becciu, the cardinal who helped orchestrate the original deal. Becciu was the "substitute," or No. 2 in the Vatican secretariat of state from 2011 to 2018, when Francis made him a cardinal and named him prefect of the Vatican's saint-making office.

Becciu says Francis cited an unrelated issue in firing him: allegations that he used €100,000 in Holy See money to make a donation to a charity controlled by his brother.

Becciu and his family have denied wrongdoing.

Pell's brusque style and aggressive clean-up effort ruffled many feathers within the Vatican old guard, Becciu especially. The Australian congratulated Francis after Becciu was sacked.

"I hope the cleaning of the stables continues in both the Vatican and Victoria," Pell said in a statement last week, referring to his home state of Victoria, where he was initially convicted and served prison time before the High Court absolved him.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/acquitted-cardinal-pell-back-in-rome-amid-vatican-scandal-20201001-p560ud html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10866340 (010703ZOCT20) Notable: The U.S. Exported QAnon to Australia and New Zealand. Now It’s Creeping Into COVID-19 Lockdown Protests - Amy Gunia - time.com

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The U.S. Exported QAnon to Australia and New Zealand. Now It’s Creeping Into COVID-19 Lockdown Protests

By Amy Gunia - September 30, 2020

1/3

Like most people, Jess spent a lot of time online during weeks of lockdown earlier this year. But the 36-year-old Australian wasn’t focused so much on playing Animal Crossing or watching Netflix. Instead, she found herself diving ever deeper into the Internet for information about QAnon.

Jess, who asked for her last name not to be used because her employer doesn’t allow her to share views on social media, says she became interested in the complex conspiracy theory in part because it claims to offer answers amid the turbulence of 2020.

She says she’s not always sure she believes everything she reads about QAnon online. But she has become active in the QAnon community on Twitter, tweeting out a mix of claims about secret pedophilia rings, anti-Joe Biden articles and pro-Trump content several times a day. “It seems to have really started picking up here. I think, because things are picking up so much over there in America,” Jess tells TIME from her Sydney home. “A lot of the stuff I read and see is shared by people in the U.S.”

For a conspiracy theory with origins in American politics, QAnon is proving remarkably malleable for export outside the U.S., fueled by growing frustration over COVID-19 restrictions around the world. In Australia and New Zealand, especially, it has taken on a life of its own—with followers adapting QAnon to incorporate local politicians and causes.

As in the United States, QAnon in Australia and New Zealand has mixed with other global conspiracy theories, including false beliefs that 5G towers are spreading coronavirus, unfounded claims that COVID-19 was either pre-planned or is a hoax and baseless theories about public vaccination programs. That turgid brew of misinformation is increasingly moving offline and spilling over into the streets in the form of protests or sometimes aggressive refusals to follow social distancing restrictions.

“We have seen the emergence of transnational, amorphous conspiracy-theory based movements,” says Joshua Roose, a senior research fellow at Deakin University in Australia. “All share a strong distrust in government and state institutions.”

QAnon began in 2017 as a uniquely American conspiracy theory. Followers of the movement, which has moved from far-right Internet forums onto mainstream social media sites, believe that President Donald Trump is fighting against a shadowy secret society that runs the world. Supporters claim this elite cabal is comprised of Democratic politicians, Satan-worshipping pedophiles and Hollywood celebrities who run a global child sex-trafficking ring, harvesting the blood of children for life-sustaining chemicals. None of this has any basis in fact.

QAnon spills over into the streets

The local strain of QAnon appears to be spurred by anger at COVID-19 restrictions: A resurgence of COVID in July forced the Australian state of Victoria—where Melbourne is located—into one of the most restrictive lockdowns in the world for weeks. In New Zealand, a small coronavirus outbreak in August also forced the government to reimpose restrictions in Auckland, the largest city.

Lockdown measures have eased in both countries, but supporters of QAnon continue to spread their conspiracy theories online—and, increasingly, offline. QAnon signs cropped up at “Freedom Day” anti-lockdown protests across Australia on Sept. 5, as well as at similar protests in Auckland.

At checkpoints set up to ensure citizens are following COVID-19 movement restrictions in the state of Victoria in August, police were forced to smash several peoples’ car windows and drag them out for refusing to provide personal details because they claimed to be “sovereign citizens”.

The fringe movement started in the United States in the 1970s, with followers believing that ultimate power is vested in individuals, who are therefore not obligated to obey government rules they disagree with, whether that be motor vehicle regulations, answering to the police or paying taxes. Videos of the Victoria arrests have been widely shared on social media accounts that also spread QAnon theories—further fueling anger over COVID-19 restrictions.

A local twist on a conspiracy theory

QAnon may center around an American conspiracy theory, but that hasn’t stopped supporters in Australia and New Zealand from adding their own local flavors.

One twist involves the hundred miles of storm drain tunnels running beneath Melbourne. Some Australian QAnon posts claim that Melbourne’s coronavirus lockdown was meant to keep the streets clear for an operation to rescue child sex-trafficking victims in the tunnels. (There is no evidence of this.)

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10866643 (010806ZOCT20) Notable: Executive Order on Addressing the Threat to the Domestic Supply Chain from Reliance on Critical Minerals from Foreign Adversaries

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Trump's rare earth executive order boosts Australia's Lynas

US President Donald Trump has highlighted the geopolitical importance of Lynas Corp's rare earth business after signing an executive order aimed at reducing America's dependence on China for the precious minerals that are vital to the electronics and defence sector.

"A strong America cannot be dependent on imports from foreign adversaries for the critical minerals that are increasingly necessary to maintain our economic and military strength in the 21st century," a White House statement said, quoting President Trump.

In 2019, the White House ordered the Defence Department to spur the production of rare-earth magnets amid concerns that China, which controls more than 80 per cent of the world's rare earth supply, could restrict exports of the products amid heightened trade tensions.

President Trump's order declares a national emergency in the US mining industry and directs government departments to use the Defense Production Act to accelerate the development of rare earth mines. President Trump used similar orders this year to boost the production of medical supplies for the coronavirus pandemic.

Critically for Lynas and other local rare earths groups, the presidential order states that the US "recognises the continued importance of cooperation on supply chain issues with international partners and allies."

Earlier this year, the US Department of Defence selected Lynas for Phase 1 funding of its proposed rare earths processing operations in Texas.

Rare earths refers to 17 elements crucial to the manufacture of many hi-tech products such as mobile phones, electric cars, wind turbines and defence applications.

Lynas, the only significant rare earth producer outside of China, currently extracts these rare earth ores from a West Australian mine and processes the ore in Malaysia.

Lynas shares rose as much as 6 per cent on Thursday to a high of $2.47 before closing at $2.44.

It is planning to set up processing facilities in Western Australia, as well as the processing facility in Texas which is focused on rare earths used by the defence sector.

"We continue to see China's dominance of global rare earths production (approximately 85 per cent) and ongoing geopolitical/trade tension as continuing to provide a supportive backdrop to the NdPr market," said Canaccord Genuity this month referring to a key rare earth element used in magnets.

In July Lynas said it was expecting higher demand for its ores in the current half year after the COVID-related shutdown of its Malaysian operations crippled production for the June quarter and generated its first period of negative operating cash flow since 2014.

The company said sales volumes and revenue more than halved compared to the prior fourth quarter to 1878 tonnes and $38 million respectively.

In addition to the forced shutdowns, Lynas said demand for rare earths had been particularly hard hit in relation to the automotive market which is one of the company’s major sources of demand.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/trump-s-rare-earth-executive-order-boosts-australia-s-lynas-20201001-p5610n.html

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Executive Order on Addressing the Threat to the Domestic Supply Chain from Reliance on Critical Minerals from Foreign Adversaries

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-domestic-supply-chain-reliance-critical-minerals-foreign-adversaries/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10866725 (010825ZOCT20) Notable: US Conspiracy network comes down under - Naomi Levin - aijac.org.au, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: QAnon_presence_at_a_Trump_campaign_rally_in_the_US.jpg

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US Conspiracy network comes down under

Naomi Levin - Oct 1, 2020

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You could be forgiven for thinking the recent anti-lockdown protests in Australia were organised and attended by a tiny group of disparate individuals – mostly cranks – who brazenly ignore official health advice.

In part, you would be right. But you might not be aware that those instrumental in leading Melbourne’s demonstrations are, in some cases, tied up with the US-based conspiracy movement QAnon, as a dive into the darker recesses of social media has shown.

QAnon is an online movement that surfaced in the United States in 2017, but has since infiltrated other countries, including Australia. It is based on cryptic messages distributed by an anonymous source who is apparently a senior US official – known as Q – on the fringe social media platform 8kun (previously known as 8chan). It is ostensibly a far-right movement, but attracts anti-establishment types on the far-left as well. It also has a strong vein of antisemitism.

QAnon followers are united by a scepticism of the “deep state”, which they see as a corrupt cabal of global elites who run the world. Those “elites”, according to QAnon followers, include Microsoft founder Bill Gates; financier and philanthropist George Soros; and Hollywood celebrities ranging from disgraced, now deceased, producer Jeffrey Epstein to talk show host Ellen Degeneres. In addition to the allegations about having undue control over world affairs, QAnon followers also accuse many of the same people of involvement in a global paedophilia ring. According to QAnon, US President Donald Trump will bring this global elitist cabal to justice.

While this is the central theme of QAnon, there are thousands of threads tying it to other conspiracy theories, from opposition to immunisation, to convoluted ideas about the “real reasons” behind coronavirus lockdown measures – or the “plandemic”, as QAnon followers call it.

It is the pandemic that has really boosted the popularity of QAnon in Australia. Australians who are unhappy with lockdown measures are using social media to discuss and debate the “clues” dropped by Q in an attempt to discover the “truth”.

QAnon is not a membership movement so it is impossible to know how many followers it has. While it is predominantly US-based, Canadian academic Marc-Andre Argentino has estimated Australia is in the top five countries for QAnon activity. But how has QAnon – a conspiracy theory movement so embedded in American politics – gained traction in Australia?

Researcher Dr. Kaz Ross from the University of Tasmania has found that One Nation politicians have raised conspiracy theories that may have led Australians down the QAnon “rabbit hole” – the common term used to describe those who start believing QAnon-spread nonsense. AIJAC is not suggesting that the One Nations senators are themselves involved in or supporters of QAnon.

Dr Ross, a humanities lecturer, has pointed to One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts’ repeated support in Parliament for the baseless Agenda 21 conspiracy theory, starting from his Sept. 2016 first speech, as one factor that has pushed his Australian supporters down the QAnon rabbit hole.

Agenda 21 was a non-binding sustainability plan adopted by UN members in 1992, but Dr. Ross explains that: “The belief that ‘Agenda 21’ is a blueprint for corrupt global governance has become a core tenet of QAnon in Australia.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10866885 (010907ZOCT20) Notable: Alexander Downer Tweet: Why was Papadopoulos running around London telling people the Russians have dirt on a presidential candidate?, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: AD_9.jpg

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Alexander Downer Tweets

AspiringFarmer @JamesGKilgore

Comey is still lying about how the FBI started spying on @realDonaldTrump campaign. He puts it at the feet of @AlexanderDowner who we all know now entrapped @GeorgePapa19 with Halper and Misfud.

@RealSLokhova @SharriMarkson @RitaPanahi @pwafork @Bolt_RSS #WarRoomPandemic

https://twitter.com/JamesGKilgore/status/1311414173817925632

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Alexander Downer @AlexanderDowner

Replying to @JamesGKilgore @realDonaldTrump and 6 others

We’ve said over and over again we’re happy to explain to the Durham investigation all we know. I have one question. Why was Papadopoulos running around London telling people the Russians have dirt on a presidential candidate? God knows but it was a pretty odd thing to do!

https://twitter.com/AlexanderDowner/status/1311420740437250051

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Stephen McIntyre @ClimateAudit

Replying to @AlexanderDowner @JamesGKilgore and 7 others

did Papadopoulos specifically say that the Russians had offered to assist the Trump campaign? Or did he make the slightly narrower claim that they had **dirt? Keep in mind that, at the time of your meeting with him, the DNC emails hadnt been hacked (not til May 23-25)

https://twitter.com/ClimateAudit/status/1311424321596928000

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Alexander Downer @AlexanderDowner

Replying to @ClimateAudit @JamesGKilgore and 7 others

The latter. He didn’t mention emails

https://twitter.com/AlexanderDowner/status/1311425019579424768

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10866906 (010911ZOCT20) Notable: Mifsud, Downer, the CIA, DIA, Halper, “Azra Turk,” and more all “bumped” into me in London

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>>179620

George Papadopoulos Tweets

I reported this clown to US authorities in early 2017, testified under oath about my “meeting” with him and am glad we will expose Australia’s involvement in trying to assist the Clinton campaign. The world was against us. Trump still won.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1311443003135983617

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This guy funneled $25 million to the Clinton foundation and has been interviewed by Durham as part of his criminal probe after I testified under oath about the truth about my “meeting” with this clown. Australia wanted Clinton to win. They interfered. They bet wrong!

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1311447174639738882

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“We talk about the deep state. There are players now, even ambassadors that are sitting ambassadors that were involved in this with the FBI and DOJ.”—Mark Meadows

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1311450209726197760

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Of course she is. Mifsud, Downer, the CIA, DIA, Halper, “Azra Turk,” and more all “bumped” into me in London. Who was CIA station chief in London at the time? Gina Haspel. She is trying to cover up the UK and Australia’s role with the CIA. Expose it!

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1311481470867963905

Ryan Saavedra @RealSaavedra

Federalist co-founder Sean Davis reports that CIA Director Gina Haspel is blocking releasing and declassifying critical documents related to Obama’s FBI surveilling the Trump campaign in 2016

https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1311469631551336449

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10866991 (010931ZOCT20) Notable: FBI gives Australian Federal Police inside running on China tactics, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Australian_Federal_Police_chief_commissioner_Reece_Kershaw_in_his_office_in_Canberra.jpg

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FBI gives Australia inside running on China tactics

Australian Federal Police chief commissioner Reece Kershaw says the agency needs more Mandarin speakers to work on foreign inference cases and will recruit language graduates and Australian-Chinese community members to tackle the “new and complex” threat.

A year after he was sworn into the job, Mr Kershaw has also ­revealed he sought help last year from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations on how the AFP could respond to foreign interference in Australian institutions. He said the FBI prepared detailed training materials for its Australian counterpart to help it investigate crimes under foreign interference laws passed in June 2018. He said a key insight from the FBI, which has ramped up prosecutions of US citizens and foreign agents working covertly for Beijing, was to “understand your opponent”.

“We are dealing with people who are highly trained and highly skilled,” Mr Kershaw said. “The challenge in that crime type is how do you cut across from intelligence to evidence. It’s great to know something and suspect something, but you have to prove it.”

The agency now has 65 investigators in its foreign interference team, which works closely with ASIO, “and that will grow over time”, Mr Kershaw said.

He said there were “not enough” Mandarin speakers in the AFP to deal with the growing foreign interference threat — a situation he hoped to reverse in a new recruitment drive. “It is something that we are focusing on, as far as far as getting that broad language (skill set) and identifying what those gaps are,” Mr Kershaw said.

Australia’s security agencies have long struggled to recruit sufficient numbers of Mandarin speakers of non-Chinese heritage, who are more easily vetted for classified work, making it much harder to crack foreign interference cases. It’s understood the AFP will also target Arabic speakers to work on counter-terrorism cases as part of a wider push to ensure the agency taps into the skills of ­diaspora communities.

“We’ve got to be as diverse as the Australian community, but currently we’re not,” he said.

Since Mr Kershaw took charge, the AFP has disrupted two potential terrorist attacks — one by an alleged Islamist extremist and another inspired by extreme right-wing ideology. Ten people were charged as a result of six joint counter-terrorism operations.

Mr Kershaw said a new Sensitive Investigations Oversight Board was now helping investigators to balance the requirement to prevent an attack with the need to gather evidence to prosecute.

The AFP is also pursuing a surge in online child exploitation cases, amid a jump in reports of ­alleged abuse to 21,000 in 2019-20, compared to 14,000 the previous year.

Data suggests the amount of child abuse material being shared on the dark web is increasing, with AFP officers seeing sites crash due to the increase volume of traffic.

The AFP raided NSW state Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane and his part-time staffer John Zhang in June in a joint investigation with ASIO over allegations of foreign interference by the Chinese Communist Party.

It’s alleged Mr Zhang, who ­attended a CCP propaganda training course in 2013, sought to ­improperly influence Mr Moselmane, concealing from his boss that he and others were collaborating with the Chinese state.

The raids were the first use of June 2018 national security laws introduced by Malcolm Turnbull targeting CCP interference in Australian institutions.

Mr Kershaw said the AFP was currently investigating “more than one” additional foreign interference case, but declined to elaborate.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/fbi-gives-aussies-inside-running-on-china-tactics/news-story/57601190ee4aefa0b3913c162649bd7c

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/10867017 (010937ZOCT20) Notable: Australian officials granted access to Cheng Lei, the Australian anchor detained in China, MISSING MEDIA/FILES: Cheng_Lei_a_high_profile_Australian_television_anchor_for_the_Chinese_Government_s_English_news_channel_CGTN_has_been_detained_in_Beijing.jpg, The_Australian_Financial_Review_s_Michael_Smith_left_and_the_ABC_s_Bill_Birtles_prepare_to_leave_China.jpg

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Australian officials granted access to Cheng Lei, the Australian anchor detained in China

The Federal Government has confirmed consular officials have had access this week to an Australian journalist detained in China.

Cheng Lei was working as a high-profile anchor for China's state-run English news service, CGTN, until she was arrested last month.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Ms Lei was "suspected of criminal activities endangering national security".

The Federal Government said it was providing consular assistance to Ms Cheng and her family, and was given access to her earlier this week.

"We were granted consular access to Ms Cheng on 28 September via video at a detention centre where she is being held," the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told the ABC in a statement.

DFAT said it would not provide any further information because of privacy obligations.

It was only the second consular visit to Ms Cheng since the Australian Government was informed of her detention on August 14.

"We were granted consular access to Ms Cheng on 27 August via video at the detention centre," DFAT told the ABC earlier this month.

"Australia's ambassador to China participated in the visit."

Ms Cheng, who has two young children living with family in Melbourne, is being held in Beijing under what is called "residential surveillance at a designated location".

It is a form of detention in which investigators can imprison and question a suspect for up to six months while cutting them off from lawyers and the outside world — all before they have even been formally arrested.

Associate Professor Feng Chongyi from the University of Technology Sydney, who was himself detained in China for a week in 2017, has said it is an "arbitrary detention" that violates human rights.

"The victim is usually held in solitary confinement, sealed off from the outside world for up to six months and subjected to continuous interrogations, sleep deprivation and other forms of torture," he said.

Worsening Australia-China relations

Relations between Australia and China have been steadily deteriorating in recent months.

Earlier this month, the ABC's Bill Birtles and the Australian Financial Review's Mike Smith were pulled out of China after a five-day diplomatic standoff.

They were initially barred from leaving the country unless they consented to an interview by police about a national security case they were not involved with.

Shortly after Birtles and Smith arrived back in Australia, a host of Chinese media outlets revealed Australia's spy agency ASIO had raided the homes of four Chinese state media journalists in June.

More details have since been revealed by the ABC about a highly sensitive foreign political interference investigation being carried out by Australian authorities.

The ABC revealed Australian police had accessed communications involving top Chinese diplomats and named a Chinese consular official in a warrant as part of the investigation.

Tensions between Canberra and Beijing have also been tested recently over trade, Hong Kong and the coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-30/australian-officials-access-journalist-cheng-lei-detained-china/12717358