/qresearch/ -  Q Research

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CURRENT DOUGH

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>>18142172 (pb)

White House gives federal agencies 30 days to purge TikTok

AFP - FEBRUARY 28, 2023

The White House has given US federal agencies 30 days to purge Chinese-owned video-snippet sharing app TikTok from all government-issued devices, setting a deadline to comply with a ban ordered by the US congress.

Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young in a memorandum called on government agencies within 30 days to “remove and disallow installations” of the application on agency-owned or operated IT devices, and to “prohibit internet traffic” from such devices to the app.

The ban does not apply to businesses in the US not associated with the federal government, or to the millions of private citizens who use the hugely popular app.

However, a recently introduced bill in congress would “effectively ban TikTok” in the US, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

“Congress must not censor entire platforms and strip Americans of their constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression,” ACLU senior policy counsel Jenna Leventoff said on Monday.

“We have a right to use TikTok and other platforms to exchange our thoughts, ideas, and opinions with people around the country and around the world.”

Owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, TikTok has become a political target due to concerns the globally popular app can be circumvented for spying or propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party.

The law signed by US President Joe Biden last month bans the use of TikTok on government-issued devices. The law also bans TikTok use in the US House of Representatives and Senate.

National security concerns over alleged China spying have grown over the past month after a Chinese balloon traversed US airspace and was eventually shot down.

The Canadian government on Monday banned TikTok from all of its phones and other devices, citing fears about how much access Beijing has to user data.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/white-house-gives-federal-agencies-30-days-to-purge-tiktok/news-story/95b215d77bb065d9cd464d8c994a4556

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>>18408105 (pb)

Former US National Security Agency chief Michael Rogers warns WA mining industry’s cybersecurity at risk

Bethany Hiatt - 28 February 2023

China poses a “significant” cybersecurity threat to WA’s mining industry, former US National Security Agency chief Michael Rogers has warned.

The retired admiral — whose visit to Perth came as the Federal Government held a roundtable with cybersecurity industry leaders on Monday — said espionage activity directed against Australia had surged as it took on a broader regional and global role.

Historically, he said, nations such as Russia and China had not been significantly interested in Australia.

“But you look at how Australia’s global and regional presence and set of activities has expanded in the last five years,” he said.

“So look at AUKUS, look at the Quad. Look at Australia’s participation with NATO, even though it’s a non-NATO member.

“You can see that nations like Russia are asking themselves, ‘What are Australia’s objectives? We need to better understand their military, their political process, we need to understand some of the personalities of their leadership’.

“So one of the ways you’d do that is espionage.”

Admiral Rogers, who also headed US Cyber Command under presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump and is now a global adviser for cybersecurity firm CyberCX, named mining as a key focus of interest.

“Mining is a Chinese target,” he said. “I think it’d be very significant in terms of them trying to understand: ‘So what are the dynamics in the mining industry, how does the mining industry view China, what’s the mining industry’s long term economic strategy?’

“Those are all things to me that China would be very interested in. Because they count on their ability to acquire the products of WA, particularly in the sense of minerals and iron ore.”

Admiral Rogers said that he would expect China, as WA’s biggest trading partner, to also be interested in the State’s political processes.

“You’re the economic engine for Australia, you have the commodity that the Chinese care the most about,” he said.

“You will be very interesting to the Chinese for a variety of reasons. Some of them that are very reasonable and some should be of concern.”

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess revealed last week that the spy agency was facing an unprecedented spike in cybersecurity threats and foreign interference from multiple sources.

Admiral Rogers noted that China’s attitude to Australia had changed in the past 20 years.

“You didn’t see China engaged in some of the practices that they are now,” he said.

“So that’s something we need to be mindful of, we should be concerned about and we have to ask ourselves how do we position ourselves to better defend ourselves and how do we also show China that those are unacceptable behaviours.

“We’re not going to let you just penetrate our parliamentary system. We’re not going to let you attempt to systematically influence our political process.

“As nations, we’ve all got to figure out what’s the best way to deal with it.”

On a global level, the state actors most often cited in cyberattacks are China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

But Admiral Rogers said that “cyber is a great equalizer” because nation-states did not need massive budgets or a big cyber espionage force.

“The reality is almost every nation today ... is trying to develop cybersecurity capability, both from a defensive standpoint but many are also interested in it offensively,” he said.

“Whether they want to use it for traditional espionage and spying — to penetrate government systems or extract classified or sensitive information — but you’re seeing nation-states not only do that but now they’re looking at cyber as ‘what if I could steal economically sensitive information’.”

Countries about to enter negotiations might consider penetrating a company’s networks to get a sense of their negotiating position or minimum price point.

Nation-states were also using cyber as part of misinformation campaigns designed to influence, disrupt and divide countries.

https://thewest.com.au/business/mining/former-us-national-security-agency-chief-michael-rogers-warns-was-mining-industry-a-cyber-target-c-9873025

https://archive.md/CgU25

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>>18418081 (pb)

Censorship, PC agendas block fact-checking on Covid-19’s origins

SHARRI MARKSON - FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Censorship and political posturing in the US has irreparably damaged our understanding of how the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Social media giants expunged content querying whether the virus escaped from a Wuhan laboratory.

Distinguished medical journals refused to publish scientific papers that examined whether the SARS-Cov2 virus may be a man-manipulated construct.

And purportedly trusted media outlets, such as the ABC in Australia, labelled the suggestion that a Wuhan laboratory might be responsible for the outbreak a conspiracy theory.

They did so as early as May 2020, misleading viewers, discouraging scientific debate and hosing down journalistic inquiry.

Media Watch host Paul Barry ridiculed our reporting at News Corp on the gain-of-function experiments scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were undertaking prior to the pandemic.

“So, how likely is it that the virus escaped from that Chinese lab? Well, in short, it’s not,” he said authoritatively, on-air.

“So why did the lab escape theory still dominate the story, especially when virus experts had dismissed it three days earlier in The Sydney Morning Herald? Sharri must have missed that bulletin.”

Yet now two US intelligence agencies have concluded that Covid-19 most likely leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

They are the FBI and the Department of Energy.

Another two agencies, including the CIA, are undecided while four say it’s more likely that the virus arose naturally.

None of these agencies has a high degree of confidence in their position.

As the President’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CNN on Sunday the intelligence community was divided on the question of how the pandemic began.

We might be able to answer this question with more confidence had censorship and political correctness not stymied research on this topic three years ago.

It’s stunning to think there has still not been a thorough, bipartisan investigation in the style of the 9/11 Commission, which interviewed over 1200 people in 10 countries, reviewing half a million pages of documents.

This is an action US President Joe Biden could take immediately which could help us come to a definitive view about how the pandemic began.

The National Institutes of Health, which funded coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, is still refusing to hand over documents. It is going to court rather than disclose information that could implicate it further in the dangerous research that was underway in Wuhan.

It’s nonsense to say there is no evidence to suggest the virus leaked from a laboratory.

The evidence is not definitive, it is not conclusive, but it is overwhelming.

Consider the research Wuhan scientists were undertaking to make bat coronaviruses more lethal and more transmissible, the concerns over safety protocols held by its own laboratory director, the cover-up at the laboratory itself in November 2019 and the way the CCP reacted when the virus began to spread.

There’s certainly more evidence linking the Wuhan Institute of Virology to the start of Covid-19 than there is evidence to support the theory that the most infectious virus in a century simply arose naturally.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/censorship-pc-agendas-block-factchecking-on-covid19s-origins/news-story/b37ac05d7ba57d6c64d121c08814313f

>>18418081 (pb)

>>18422955

‘Stop rehashing the lab leak narrative’: Beijing responds to Department of Energy’s coronavirus origin claims

Beijing has dismissed recent developments that point to COVID-19 leaking from a laboratory, calling for “certain parties” to stop smearing China.

Joseph Huitson - February 28, 2023

Beijing has urged “certain parties” to stop rehashing the coronavirus lab leak theory, which it claims is smearing China’s reputation.

The virus, which emerged in late 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed almost seven million people and its origins have been the subject of heated debate.

However the United States Department of Energy on Sunday changed its position on the origins of the virus, now saying it most likely came from an accidental laboratory leak.

The conclusion was made with “low confidence” in an intelligence report which was recently provided to the White House and several members of the US Congress.

China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning rejected the claims made, and said virus should not be used as a political weapon.

“The origins-tracing of SARS-CoV-2 is about science and should not be politicised,” she said at a press conference on Monday.

“China has always supported and participated in global science-based origins-tracing.”

Mao Ning noted a “science-based” conclusion reach by a World Health Organisation team that visited China in 2021 that reached the conclusion that the lab leak was considered to be “extremely unlikely”.

The team spent four weeks in Wuhan, which included a visit to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Huanan market, working alongside Chinese researchers.

However questions were raised about the level of transparency and cooperation from the researchers and government officials, with members of the WHO team voicing their frustrations at the time.

The WHO has since acknowledged it was premature to rule out the lab leak theory.

Pointing to the 2021 report, Mao Ning said it was accurate and that the theory should stop being recirculated for political gain.

“It was accurately recorded in the mission’s report and has received extensive recognition from the international community,” she said.

“Certain parties should stop rehashing the lab leak narrative, stop smearing China and stop politicizing origins-tracing.”

The Department of Energy is not the only agency supporting the theory, with the FBI claiming it likely resulted from an accidental leak out of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Not all intelligence agencies are on the same page about the origins however.

Four other agencies, which have declined to be identified, state with low confidence that COVID-19 came via natural transmission from an infected animal.

US National Security advisor Jake Sullivan reaffirmed there was a “variety of views in the intelligence community” when asked about the new developments over the weekend.

“A number of them have said they just don’t have enough information,” he said.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/coronavirus/stop-rehashing-the-lab-leak-narrative-beijing-responds-to-department-of-energys-coronavirus-origin-claims/news-story/6c62b0c8ccd2fa5a8ac270824fc9dc05

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202302/t20230227_11032204.html

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>>18401561 (pb)

Through the looking-glass of Keating policy

GREG SHERIDAN - FEBRUARY 28, 2023

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China’s peace plan for Ukraine is a nakedly pro-Russian formula that nonetheless betrays interesting Chinese diplomatic ambition. The peace plan would allow Moscow to keep the Ukrainian territory it has won by military invasion, and end Western sanctions on Russia, while negotiations took place and everyone avoided a “Cold War mentality”.

Beijing’s effective alliance with Moscow is real and deep. Both US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO leaders warn Beijing is considering supplying Russia with lethal drones and artillery ammunition. The Albanese government has urged Beijing not to do this.

Chinese leaders are presumably appalled at Russian military incompetence but they know whose side they are on: Russia’s.

Despite rhetoric about national sovereignty, Beijing has made it clear it accepts, ethically, morally and ideologically, the right of big powers to invade smaller neighbours.

The most grievous outcome of this world view is likely to be in Taiwan. The autonomy and peaceful freedom from invasion for Taiwan is a vital national interest for Australia. This is for four reasons.

The first is humanitarian and principled. We cannot acquiesce in democracy being crushed, much less people being needlessly slaughtered in unprovoked wars of conquest.

Second, Taiwan’s location is critical geo-strategically. Possessing Taiwan, Beijing would be vastly more powerful militarily, threatening Japan, threatening critical sea lanes and probably pushing the US back to Hawaii.

Third, the US alliance system in Asia, on which we depend, could unravel if the US and its allies can’t help an old friend such as Taiwan, where the US has deep security commitments.

Fourth, Taiwan dominates semiconductor production. Its occupation by Beijing would massively increase China’s economic power.

It’s thus essential to have a stable, credible deterrence structure.

One of the chief figures arguing Australia has no strategic interest in Taiwan is former prime minister Paul Keating. In an interview published recently in Australian Foreign Affairs, Keating said: “Remember this, Taiwan’s democracy started in 1996, not 1906, 1996. When Lee Teng-hui (Taiwan’s then president) decided, ‘oh, look, what we should have is a bunch of municipal elections’ … And for those municipal elections, we have World War III, is that the proposition?”

This is factually wrong, strategically obtuse and morally bankrupt. Taiwan’s democrats struggled for decades to win full democracy from a government that started out in 1949 harshly authoritarian. They secured progressively more democratic elections through the 1980s. In 1991 Taiwan held a fully democratic election for the National Assembly and in 1992 for the Legislative Yuan, the parliament. Taiwanese democracy didn’t begin with the first direct presidential election in 1996.

It’s dangerous, and offensive, to hold Taiwanese democracy in contempt. Australia should passionately defend the principle that mid-size democracies should not be militarily crushed.

Taiwan is a brilliantly successful, peaceful, democratic nation of 24 million people. Power frequently rotates at elections. Only Chinese Communist Party propaganda dismisses its democracy with a cant term such as “municipal elections”. Even if you’re bending over backwards to please Beijing, why insult the Taiwanese people? If Taiwan is just a municipality, enemies might in due course characterise Australia the same way.

Keating has problems with facts about the strategic environment. Last week he wrote that if Australia acquired nuclear-powered submarines – specifically US Virginias – these would fire only “conventional torpedoes, the same as the existing Collins-class submarines”.

It seems tedious to point out Keating’s factual errors, but they are numerous and distort debate. The Virginias have vertical launch systems, which Collins boats don’t have. These can fire types and numbers of missiles far beyond “conventional torpedoes – the same as the existing Collins – class submarines”.

Nuclear attack subs, like the Virginias, aren’t designed to carry nuclear weapons. These are deployed on ballistic missile submarines, which no government has ever contemplated for Australia. Nuclear attack subs have vastly greater range, lethality, stealth, depth, persistence and speed than conventional subs. To suggest they “do the same job” as conventional subs and nothing more is just wrong.

(continued)

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Keating seldom has a kind word for a democracy. Britain, he says, “is just a joke” and he has made disparaging remarks about India and Japan. Only the splendid Stalinist dictatorship in Beijing seems to warm his heart.

Thus, last week Keating suggested I should register as a foreign agent because my appreciation of the value of the US alliance makes me more loyal to the US than to my own country. To accuse a fellow Australian of disloyalty to his own country is contemptible, and in this case baseless, or as well based as most things Keating says. I have on thousands of occasions criticised US administrations, presidents and politicians, of both parties, and written at length about problems in American culture. I don’t need to prove my patriotism to someone as confused as Keating.

Let’s turn the question around. How often has Keating criticised CCP policy? Mike Green, author of the definitive study of US grand strategy in Asia, has commented that the Obama administration was surprised to see Keating, a former prime minister, “apparently taking China’s case to the Australian people”.

Certainly the CCP comes up with remarkably similar talking points to Keating’s. At the 2019 election, Keating said our national security agencies had “gone berko” on China, were led by “nutters”, and Labor should sack their leadership if it gained office. Trying to discredit national security agencies is one of the most irresponsible interventions any former Australian leader has ever made, but one surely welcome in Beijing.

I certainly would never suggest Keating should register as a foreign agent. I’m sure he’s the author of all his own misunderstandings. But compared with how often I’ve criticised the Americans – while still unashamedly admiring their democracy, appreciating their strategic leadership and, perversely perhaps, thinking that being allied with the most powerful nation on earth is actually useful for Australia – how often has Keating ever criticised Beijing?

Did he lend his grandeur to condemning the rape of Hong Kong, the persecution of Uighur Muslims, the imprisonment of human rights lawyers, the imprisonment of Australians on trumped-up charges, the persecution of Christians or of independent trade unionists? Has he ever expressed opposition to Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea? Is he at all worried about Beijing’s massive military build-up, its program to build nuclear weapons faster than any other nation, the continuous cyber attacks on Australia, the relentless efforts to interfere in Western politics as recently revealed by the security agencies of the government of that well-known right-wing extremist, Justin Trudeau, and so on?

If Keating really wants to find someone who routinely argues another nation’s case against the Australian strategic mainstream, he need look no further than the mirror.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/through-the-lookingglass-of-keating-policy/news-story/b1aa4c9ef8dbe7c570bf62055850165c

Malka Leifer protested her innocence in tears as she was stood down, County Court trial hears

Kristian Silva - 28 February 2023

Malka Leifer was in tears and protesting her innocence after being stood down as school principal amid child sexual abuse allegations in 2008, Victoria's County Court has heard.

Warning: This story contains details of allegations of sexual abuse.

Mrs Leifer, 56, has pleaded not guilty to abusing three sisters while she was principal of the ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel Jewish School in Melbourne's south-east.

Esther Spiegelman, a former department head at the school, told the County Court trial she attended a board meeting when Mrs Leifer was stood down.

During cross examination, Ms Spiegelman agreed Mrs Leifer was in tears at the meeting.

"Did she say 'I did nothing wrong'?" defence lawyer Ian Hill asked, "and what was happening was unfair?".

Ms Spiegelman answered "yes" to both questions.

Prosecutors allege Mrs Leifer, now 56, abused the sisters in staff offices, on camps and at her home.

Sisters Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper allege the offences occurred while they were students of the Adass Israel School, and when they worked there as junior religious studies teachers.

During the trial, prosecutors claimed the sisters had little understanding about sex when the alleged offences occurred, due to their strict religious upbringing.

On Monday, Ms Erlich's ex-husband said she initially spoke of Ms Leifer "in glowing terms" and considered her a trusted confidante.

He said Ms Erlich's attitude towards Ms Leifer changed in 2008, when she made disclosures about Ms Leifer to a counsellor in Israel.

Staff describe how Mrs Leifer closely mentored student teachers

Three years later the campus underwent renovations, Adass Israel School's executive head Jennifer Measey told the court.

She said a window was installed in the door of the principal's office and two walls were knocked down, meaning part of the office could be combined with a classroom.

Ms Measey said the door handles were changed, and large cloth dividers were removed from some rooms.

"We took a lot of measures," Ms Measey said.

During her tenure as principal, Ms Measey said Mrs Leifer's duties included looking after "the welfare and education of the girls" at the school.

"She would make sure any materials given to the students were appropriate, according to the ethos and philosophy of the school," Ms Measey told the court.

Another staff member, Sharon Bromberg, said sex education was not taught at the school, and agreed a "typical family" from the Adass Israel community would not have access to things like televisions or newspapers.

Ms Bromberg said Mrs Leifer's role meant she closely mentored student teachers, meeting them at her home and in private in her office, sometimes on Sundays.

Ms Bromberg said Mrs Leifer was a busy mother of eight children, and agreed with defence lawyer Ian Hill that she was a "particularly hard-working teacher".

When asked by Mr Hill whether Ms Leifer "led by example", Ms Bromberg took a deep sigh and paused.

"I'm not 100 per cent comfortable with that phrase," she said.

The trial continues.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-28/malka-leifer-trial-sexual-abuse-trial-protesting-innocence/102031686

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>>18337984 (pb)

EXCLUSIVE: Ghislaine Maxwell was thrown in SOLITARY confinement - a tiny, grim cell where inmates are fed through a slit in the door - for 48 hours after being accused of profiting off her jailhouse interview last month

BEN ASHFORD - 28 February 2023

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Ghislaine Maxwell was handcuffed and slung into solitary confinement for 48 hours after prison authorities accused her of profiting from a media interview, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Maxwell, 61, appeared on UK TV last month in a series of taped video and audio calls in which she grumbled about life behind bars and blamed pedophile ex-lover Jeffrey Epstein for her downfall.

The footage raised eyebrows at Federal Correctional Institute Tallahassee because inmates are only allowed 'video visits' from a closely-vetted list of friends, family and lawyers.

Insiders say bosses at the low-security Florida lockup launched an investigation to determine whether Maxwell had breached the terms of her 20-year federal sex trafficking sentence by selling her story to a journalist.

She protested her innocence but was marched off to the Special Housing Unit (SHU) – a 'prison within a prison' comprising tiny, grim cells where inmates are locked up for 23 hours at a time and fed through slits in the door.

'About two weeks after the show was on TV, Max was just minding her own business when they came in, turned her around and handcuffed her,' a source told DailyMail.com.

'She got really upset, she was crying, she was yelling that she hadn't received any money, but nobody saw her again for three days.

'The SHU is not a nice place. You go in there if you're suicidal, if you fail a drug test or you get in a fight.

'It's like a little box and you're only allowed out to shower once a day. There's no contact from anyone, no privileges, they slide your meals through a slot.

'Normally people stay there for at least two weeks but she was out in about 48 hours because there was no evidence she was guilty.'

Maxwell will be nearly 80 by the time she's freed unless she can overturn her convictions for procuring girls for warped financier Epstein, who hanged himself in 2019.

Her high-powered lawyer Arthur Aidala, who represented disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, has until tomorrow (Tuesday) to lodge an appeal which will be funded by the proceeds from Maxwell's recent multi-million dollar divorce from ex-husband Scott Borgerson.

The disgraced socialite used her January 23 interview with TalkTV's Jeremy Kyle to complain about her 6am starts and boring prison diet of tofu and beans.

She also sparked controversy by claiming without evidence that the now-notorious photograph of Prince Andrew with Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre was a fake.

'Ghislaine Maxwell agreed to be interviewed for the very first time in a series of taped audio and phone calls from behind bars,' crowed Kyle, introducing his interview as a bombshell world exclusive.

'During that call Maxwell told our interviewers and her brother Kevin, who was also present, that she's suffering from depression, having lost everything.'

The TV host directly addressed the question of whether Maxwell was paid for the exclusive chat, saying: 'How much did we pay Maxwell for this interview?

'Let me tell you categorically, not a damn penny and nor would we.'

Federal inmates can schedule 25-minute video calls with an approved list of family and friends via the federal prison network's CorrLinks system.

Prison pals say Maxwell insists she didn't break any rules because she was speaking to a genuine, longtime friend, the filmmaker Daphne Barak, who was asking the questions on Kyle's behalf.

Barak has interviewed Maxwell on several previous occasions for newspaper articles and has even distributed a photo of her behind bars without pushback.

'What upset Max most was that they threw her in the SHU before they knew the facts,' our insider added.

'She hasn't been the same since then, it's made her very down and depressed. She thinks they are being intentionally cruel and mean to her.'

(continued)

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In a further blow for the shamed British national, DailyMail.com can reveal Maxwell – federal prisoner 02879-509 – was denied a cushy new job at a government-owned call center.

The Oxford graduate passed a literacy test with 'flying colors' and was looking forward to selling TV, phone and internet bundles for Unicor, which pays inmates up to 69 cents an hour as part of a Department of Justice labor scheme.

Prison authorities decided, however, that the sought-after role should not go to a convicted sex offender so Maxwell will stay in her current job, working at the facility's law library.

Despite her complaints, Maxwell has daily access to an enviable array of sporting facilities at FCI Tallahassee, including the 400-meter running track where DailyMail.com snapped her going for an hour-long jog in November.

She's also teaching an array of classes, including yoga, Pilates and etiquette lessons for the jail's 753 inmates.

Prior to her 2019 arrest, jet-setting Maxwell's long list of high society pals included disgraced UK royal Prince Andrew and former President Bill Clinton.

Behind bars she hangs out with conwoman Linda Morrow, who helped her plastic surgeon husband bilk insurers out of $44 million by pretending cosmetic procedures such as tummy tucks, breast augmentations and 'vaginal rejuvenations' were medical necessities.

Morrow fled to Israel but was deported to the US in 2019 and jailed in July for more than eight years when a judge said the 70-year-old Coachella Valley-native's 'greed knew no bounds'.

Another pal is Narcy Novak, a 65-year-old Florida woman serving life without parole for hiring hitmen to murder her hotelier husband Ben Novak Jr. and his elderly mother Bernice in a grab for their family estate.

Bernice was battered to death with a plumber's wrench at her Fort Lauderdale home in April 2009. Three months later Novak, a former stripper, let the assassins into her husband's New York hotel suite where they slashed his eyes and clubbed him to death with dumbbells.

Maxwell, daughter of disgraced UK newspaper magnate Robert Maxwell, was convicted in December 2021 of five counts of grooming minors for longtime confidante Epstein.

The disgraced Brit expressed a sliver of remorse as she was handed down a 240-month sentence, telling her victims: 'I hope my conviction and harsh incarceration brings you closure.'

However Maxwell has since signaled that she will appeal her conviction and sentence, her spokesman telling DailyMail.com in recent remarks: 'Her spirits are holding up well as you might expect of an innocent woman.'

A spokesman for Maxwell said he didn’t know anything about the incident.

A spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons said: 'For privacy, safety, and security reasons, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) does not release information regarding the conditions of confinement for any inmate, nor do we discuss whether a particular inmate is the subject of allegations, investigations, or sanctions.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11799189/Ghislaine-Maxwell-thrown-solitary-confinement-jailhouse-interview.html

>>18422955

FBI Director Says Covid Pandemic Likely Caused by Chinese Lab Leak

MICHAEL R. GORDON and WARREN P. STROBEL - MARCH 1, 2023

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that the Covid pandemic was probably the result of a laboratory leak in China, providing the first public confirmation of the bureau’s classified judgment of how the virus that led to the deaths of nearly seven million people worldwide first emerged.

“The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan,” Mr Wray told Fox News. “Here you are talking about a potential leak from a Chinese government-controlled lab.” Mr Wray added that the Chinese government has been trying to “thwart and obfuscate” the investigation that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, other parts of the US government and foreign partners have been carrying out into the origin of the pandemic, but that the bureau’s work continues.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the FBI had come to the conclusion with “moderate confidence” in 2021 that the Covid-19 pandemic was likely the result of an accidental lab leak and still holds to this view.

The US Department of Energy, the Journal also reported, now also judges the pandemic was most likely the result of an unintended lab leak. The Energy Department reached that assessment with “low confidence” as a result of new intelligence and it represents a shift from its previous position in 2021 which was undecided.

The FBI and Energy Department’s assessments are included in a classified report that was provided to the White House and some politicians earlier this year.

Four other intelligence agencies that officials haven’t named and the National Intelligence Council, which conducts long-term strategic analysis, still favour the theory that the virus emerged when it leapt from an animal to a human, though with “low confidence.” The Central Intelligence Agency and another agency that officials haven’t identified remain undecided between the lab-leak and natural-transmission theories, people who have read the classified report said.

There is a consensus among the agencies that the virus wasn’t the result of a biological-weapons program, people familiar with the classified report said.

China has disputed that the virus could have leaked from one of its labs and has suggested it emerged outside China.

“The origin of the novel coronavirus is a scientific issue and should not be politicised,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing Monday.

“The bottom line is we’ve got to get to the bottom of this,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “The Biden administration is committed to it. They have all kinds of people looking at it, and we’ll wait to see their results.” The FBI employs microbiologists, immunologists and other scientists. It funds and manages the National Bioforensic Analysis Center, which was established at Fort Detrick, Md., in 2004 to analyse possible biological threats.

Mr Wray in his television interview said that among the array of potential dangers, these scientists, along with bureau agents and analysts, “focus specifically on the dangers of biological threats, which include things like novel viruses like Covid, and the concerns that in the wrong hands — some bad guys, a hostile nation state, a terrorist, a criminal — the threats that those could pose”. The Energy Department oversees a network of U.S. national laboratories, some of which conduct advanced biological research. The “Z Division” of the department’s California-based Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory conducts analysis of adversaries’ nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs, and supports the U.S. intelligence community.

The new report from the intelligence community updates a 2021 assessment that was led by the office of Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

Some scientists have argued the virus, as with other previously unknown pathogens that have infected humans, must have emerged from nature, likely as a result of China’s extensive, largely unregulated wild-animal trade.

As more time has gone by, however, and no animal host has been found, there has been greater focus among scientists on the potentially risky nature of the coronavirus research in Wuhan and the possibility of an unintended leak.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday President Biden supports ” a whole-of-government effort” to try to unravel what led to the pandemic.

“We’re just not there yet,” he said. “If we have something that is ready to be briefed to the American people and the Congress, we will do that.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/the-wall-street-journal/dj-fbi-director-says-covid-pandemic-likely-caused-by-chinese-lab-leak/news-story/6f217511846ac0c656a43d78a016c4d8

>>18422759

‘Fearing young person’s app’: US-China TikTok clash escalates

Seung Min Kim - March 1, 2023

Beijing: China says the United States is overstretching the concept of national security, abusing state power to suppress foreign companies after the White House gave government agencies 30 days to remove Chinese-owned app TikTok on federal devices.

“We firmly oppose those wrong actions,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at a regular news briefing on Tuesday.

“How unsure of itself can the US, the world’s top superpower, be to fear a young person’s favourite app to such a degree?”

The White House has given all federal agencies 30 days to wipe TikTok off all government devices.

The Office of Management and Budget calls the guidance, issued Monday, a “critical step forward in addressing the risks presented by the app to sensitive government data.” Some agencies, including the Departments of Defence, Homeland Security and State, already have restrictions in place; the guidance calls on the rest of the federal government to follow suit within 30 days.

The White House already does not allow TikTok on its devices.

“The Biden-Harris administration has invested heavily in defending our nation’s digital infrastructure and curbing foreign adversaries’ access to Americans’ data,” said Chris DeRusha, the federal chief information security officer.

“This guidance is part of the administration’s ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the American people’s security and privacy.”

Congress passed the “No TikTok on Government Devices Act” in December as part of a sweeping government funding package. The legislation does allow for TikTok use in certain cases, including for national security, law enforcement and research purposes.

This week TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said: “The ban of TikTok on federal devices passed in December without any deliberation, and unfortunately that approach has served as a blueprint for other world governments. These bans are little more than political theatre.”

House Republicans are expected to move forward on Tuesday with a bill that would give Biden the power to ban TikTok nationwide. The legislation, proposed by Representative Mike McCaul, looks to circumvent the challenges the administration would face in court if it moved forward with sanctions against the social media company.

If passed, the proposal would allow the administration to ban not only TikTok but any software applications that threaten national security. McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, has been a vocal critic of the app, saying it is being used by the Chinese Communist Party to “manipulate and monitor its users while it gobbles up Americans’ data to be used for their malign activities”.

“Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the CCP a backdoor to all their personal information. It’s a spy balloon into your phone,” the Texas Republican said in a statement on Monday.

Senator Bob Menendez, his counterpart in the Senate, did not shut down the idea of the chamber taking up a proposal that would empower Biden to take action against TikTok, saying it was “certainly something to consider”.

Oberwetter said: “We hope that when it comes to addressing national security concerns about TikTok beyond government devices, Congress will explore solutions that won’t have the effect of censoring the voices of millions of Americans.”

TikTok, owned by ByteDance, remains extremely popular and is used by two-thirds of teens in the US. But there is increasing concern that Beijing could obtain control of American user data that the app has obtained.

The company has been dismissive of the ban for federal devices and has noted that it is developing security and data privacy plans as part of the Biden administration’s ongoing national security review.

Canada also announced Monday that it is banning TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices. The European Union’s executive branch said last week it has temporarily banned TikTok from phones used by employees as a cybersecurity measure.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/wrong-actions-us-china-tiktok-clash-escalates-20230301-p5codl.html

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202302/t20230228_11032907.html

>>18422759

National security chiefs focus on TikTok risks

Dominic Giannini - March 1 2023

The Australian government is looking to the nation's top security agencies to determine if any actions should be taken against popular social media app TikTok.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government and security agencies are aware of the White House's actions, with a new directive giving all US federal agencies 30 days to wipe the app off government devices.

Questions have been raised about the Chinese-owned social media app's data collection methods.

TikTok has previously stated it has never shared Australian data with the Chinese government, and that its security teams minimise the number of people who have access to data.

The department of parliamentary services has asked MPs to carefully consider security advice before installing apps such as TikTok on mobile devices.

Dr Chalmers said the government hasn't yet been advised to take the same action as its US counterparts, but it would act on the recommendations of security agencies.

"We'll take the advice of our national security agencies," he told ABC TV.

"But the advice to us hasn't yet changed."

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil last year ordered her department to investigate how TikTok harvests data following concerns China can access the personal information of Australians.

Ms O'Neil has asked national security agencies to provide a range of options to tackle data collection by social media giants.

The report is expected to hit her desk in the coming weeks.

However, she has previously stated the government was not considering a national ban like that operating in India.

Opposition cyber security spokesman James Paterson says the government needs to act on the national security risks posed by TikTok.

Senator Paterson said the government needed to explain why it hasn't followed bans by the European Union, Canada and US who "regard the risks posed by TikTok as so unacceptable they cannot be mitigated by any other means".

"We are now falling behind our like-minded friends and allies who are taking concrete action to protect their citizens and their government users from these very serious security risks," he told AAP.

"If TikTok is not safe to be on the phone of an American or Canadian bureaucrat, the government needs to explain why it is safe on an Australian's."

China has hit back at the US, saying it firmly opposed the action.

"How unsure of itself can the world's top superpower be to fear a young people's favourite app like that?" foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

"The US has been over-stretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to suppress foreign companies.

"The US government should respect the principles of market economy and fair competition … and provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for foreign companies."

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8104622/national-security-chiefs-focus-on-tiktok-risks/

Japan ups military ties with UK and Australia, worsening Asia-Pacific security

Zhang Han - Mar 01, 2023

Japan's Cabinet on Tuesday approved the previously signed reciprocal access agreements (RAA) with the UK and Australia, signaling Japan's ambition to diversify its defense partnership and expand militarily.

According to the Nikkei newspaper, the RAAs will simplify entry procedures for personnel and ammunition during Japan's joint military exercises with the two countries. Japan signed the agreements in January 6, 2022 with Australia and on January 11, 2023 with the UK.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the agreements would ensure convenient entry to each other's military bases and facilitate military cooperation and coordination.

The Financial Times reported in November 2022 that Japan is in the preliminary stages of considering a similar pact with the Philippines.

The agreement may pave the way for Japan's participation in US-Philippines joint patrols in the South China Sea which the UK and Australia would reportedly participate, forming an actual military bloc, Song said, adding that this type of intertwined military pact reflects a dangerous trend of AUKUS expansion, Song said.

AUKUS, a trilateral security pact among Australia, the UK and the US, will reportedly unveil a submarine plan in mid-March. The three could discuss joint operations in Asia-Pacific considering the US' strong push for its Indo-Pacific Strategy, and on intelligence sharing, according to experts.

Japan, through the two RAAs, is taking a substantial step toward the AUKUS alliance, which could engage more countries in the future to become AUKUS+, Song said.

Though the newly approved RAAs do not involve the US, the strategic layout has a strong US will in it.

Song noted that in comparison with NATO's expansion in Asia, which Japan is also actively pushing forward, the trend of AUKUS+ constitutes a bigger threat to stability in the region. The expert named Canada as a potential member in the future according to the US' strategic blueprint.

According to Nikkei, Japan is seeking to buy 400 US Tomahawk missiles to acquire a long-range deterrent. The deployment could start in fiscal 2026.

Japan, besides coordination with the US as an obedient ally, is desperately attempting to diversify its defense relations, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. Japan has long dreamed of expanding sphere of influence in the political and military aspects, he said.

The RAAs and possibly more agreements of its kind, Japan's policy shift from its war-renouncing pacifist constitution, the revision of security documents to allow counterstrike capabilities, and a bold 26 percent increase in military budget for 2023 are all dangerous steps Japan took to soothe its strategic anxiety, analysts said.

However, Japan's introduction of more external forces into the Asia-Pacific and becoming increasingly aggressive will only further complicate the already tense security situation and aggravate the geopolitical environment for all in the region, including Japan itself, they said.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202303/1286401.shtml

>>18064786 (pb)

Former Top Gun pilot refuses to be sent to infamous prison among paedophiles

A detained former US fighter pilot has refused to be moved to the notorious “bone yard” prison, claiming his incarceration is excessively harsh.

Lauren Ferri - March 1, 2023

A former US marine pilot fighting extradition from Australia has refused an offer from NSW Corrective Services to move to the “bone yard” among convicted paedophiles, asking to be moved closer to his family.

Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, has been held at the maximum security Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre in Sydney’s western suburbs since his arrest in October last year.

Mr Duggan was arrested in Orange in central NSW, where he had been living with his family since renouncing his US citizenship, at the request of the US Federal Bureau for Investigation.

US authorities are attempting to extradite the former marine pilot to face charges he allegedly breached money laundering and arms export control laws more than a decade ago.

It is alleged he trained Chinese fighter pilots to land fighter jets on aircraft carriers through a flying academy in South Africa between 2010 and 2012.

Mr Duggan has repeatedly denied the allegations and maintains his innocence.

NSW Corrective Services this week offered to move Mr Duggan to the infamous bone yard at Silverwater Correctional Centre, which is home to paedophiles and other convicted criminals who need to be “protected” from other inmates.

From prison, Mr Duggan said he was visited by prison officials including the Governor in response to recent media articles about the “harsh” conditions of his incarceration.

Mr Duggan is currently held in a 2m x 4m maximum security cell.

“Where I am now is worse than a supermax … But I don’t want to be in with convicted paedophiles and others,” the former US fighter pilot said.

“They want me to put that in writing, so I have. I have requested to be moved to home detention or back to Bathurst close to my family.”

He is claiming his treatment and imprisonment is “inhumane and unjust”, with his wife on the weekend calling him a “shadow” of his former self.

Mr Duggan is currently in solitary confinement and has no access to exercise facilities.

He is also forbidden from visits with his lawyers and children, and only rarely sees his wife.

The “inhumane” conditions have been detailed in a complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

Over the weekend, Mr Duggan’s wife, Saffrine, said the pair remain resolute to fight the “injustice” of the extradition order.

“I was shocked when I saw Dan recently; he’s a shadow of himself,” she said.

“They are trying to break him and they should be ashamed.

“This is unprecedented and an affront to Australia’s rule of law and manipulation of the Australian legal system by the United States, at the expense of the Australian taxpayer.”

Mr Duggan’s arrest on October 21, 2022 coincided with warnings from Australian authorities over the practice of former military pilots being offered lucrative contracts to train foreign pilots.

In November, Defence Minister Richard Marles ordered his department to review laws governing the conduct of retired military personnel.

The move came amid reports former members of the ADF have been approached to provide training to China.

In January, a Sydney court heard Attorney General Mark Dreyfus had accepted an extradition request for Mr Duggan the previous month.

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/former-top-gun-pilot-refuses-to-be-sent-to-infamous-prison-among-paedophiles/news-story/0af33cc4a2d087cb75956888c7786ec9

Australia should not buy British nuclear subs: Dutton

BEN PACKHAM - MARCH 1, 2023

Peter Dutton has declared Australia should not buy a British nuclear submarine in comments branded as “irresponsible” by the Albanese government.

The Opposition Leader said a British boat would be plagued by problems, and the government should choose the “proven” US Virginia-class sub.

The dramatic intervention comes amid speculation the planned next-generation British submarine, dubbed the SSN(R), will emerge as the favoured option when the government’s “optimal pathway” to acquire nuclear subs is revealed this month.

Mr Dutton said he had the “greatest of respect for the Brits”, but was advised as defence minister there were a range of problems with choosing a British submarine, including a long development timeline and limited capacity within the UK supply chain.

“As anybody in the defence space can tell you, going with the first in class is difficult because there are production mistakes, there are design mistakes and by the second or third or fourth or fifth that rolls off the production line, whether it’s a tank or a ship or a submarine, you get it right by then,” he said at the Avalon Airshow on Wednesday.

“The beauty in my mind with the American model of the Virginia class was that it was a proven design.

“It gave us interoperability with the Americans, and there’ll be more American subs in the Indo-Pacific than there will be British submarines.”

Mr Dutton said he was briefed ahead of the May 2022 election that Rolls-Royce, which makes reactors for British nuclear submarines, had no available production capacity, while the UK’s submarine production facility at Barrow on Furness “didn’t have the ability to scale up”.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy accused Mr Dutton of undermining confidence in the submarine program, and suggested he had misused classified information he received as minister.

“Those comments from Peter Dutton are incredibly irresponsible,” Mr Conroy said.

“He’s either being mischievous or he’s not privy to the latest information. I’ve just come back from Barrow in the United Kingdom where I’ve got a full briefing on what the United Kingdom is doing. I stay in regular contact with the US Navy, and we’ll make announcements very shortly about the optimal path forward on our nuclear propelled submarines.”

Mr Dutton’s comments followed a June 2022 opinion piece by the Opposition Leader in The Australian revealing that he believed as minister that the US government would sell Australia two Virginia-class boats off its Connecticut production line by 2030, while a further eight of the US subs would be built in Adelaide.

Anthony Albanese is expected to travel to the US this month to make a joint statement with Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Australia’s chosen nuclear submarine.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/australia-should-not-buy-british-nuclear-subs-dutton/news-story/39f1aa17a26fd0d3a684f3cac0456a6d

>>18252267 (pb)

Court in the act: what else is voice lobby not telling us?

JANET ALBRECHTSEN - MARCH 1, 2023

1/2

Has there ever been a more flagrant attempt to deceive the Australian people than the Albanese government’s effort to force-feed the voice into our Constitution?

Aided and abetted by an army of activist advisers and cheerleaders, Anthony Albanese and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney lead what can only be described as the great deception. The root cause of this deception is that the objective of this campaign is to enact a massive change to our constitutional arrangements, namely to begin the process of replacing our long-treasured sole and exclusive sovereignty of the crown with the form of co-sovereignty between the crown and Indigenous Australia demanded by the Uluru Statement from the Heart. This, in turn, is a first step to treaty and self-determination. This radical step could be implemented only by pretending the change was modest, encasing it with feel-good atmospherics, backed up with frequent browbeating.

What, for example, is law professor Megan Davis doing by demanding universities, including the peak body, Universities Australia, sing from her Yes song sheet? Universities are meant to encourage free thought, not foisted views, aren’t they?

The gamble by Yes activists that we would not look too hard at the proposed wording and its consequences, or stand up to bullying, has manifestly failed – to the point where even some voice supporters are now coming clean.

The result: the Yes campaign is now falling apart under the weight of its internal inconsistencies, dishonesties and division.

Who could forget that the Prime Minister’s much-quoted Calma-Langton report promised us, in section 2.9, that their Yes model would “reflect the need to respect parliamentary sovereignty and avoid causing unintended consequences. As a result, all elements would be non-justiciable, meaning that there could not be a court challenge”?

There was a time when many voice supporters recognised that non-justiciability was critical: to avoid opening a massive hole in parliamentary supremacy and creating a huge transfer of power from our elected parliament to unelected courts.

Not so any more. Now, Langton admits the voice is a matter for the courts. On ABC radio recently she said: “Why would we restrict the voice to representations that can’t be challenged in court?” Asked about whether High Court challenges could be used to delay government decisions until the voice had deliberated on the matter, Langton said, “That’s a possibility … why wouldn’t we want that to be the case?”

Many curiously minded and in some instances legally trained commentators have consistently warned the voice would be able to use leverage extracted by lawsuits to gum up the processes of government, and thereby hand vast negotiating power to the voice and its supporters. We were naysaid and insulted by a phalanx of activist lawyers. Constitutional lawyer Greg Craven said “this legal fright-fest is bizarre” as he assured us that the High Court would not, for example, impose legal obligations around consultation with the voice.

The gap between then and now is remarkable and of concern. Since then, former High Court justice Kenneth Hayne admitted the voice could be the subject of litigation, but he told us to trust the courts. Then fellow former High Court justice Ian Callinan confirmed the voice could be the subject of a decade of litigation. He appeared less trusting of the courts. Now, even ardent voice supporter George Williams has admitted what he should have told us upfront. “Courts will play a role in the operation of the voice,” he said recently.

Last December, Williams wrote: “There is no requirement the voice be listened to before a decision” was made. Last week, Williams admitted: “Courts may be asked to rule on the … the consequences of a minister failing to listen when the voice has spoken.”

(continued)

>>18427819

2/2

Other leading figures in the Constitutional Expert Group such as constitutional lawyer Davis, as well as Craven, have also recently acknowledged what was long denied or dismissed – namely that the courts will play a significant role in determining the powers, processes and functions of the voice.

Why didn’t all these lawyers tell us this earlier? Why did this entirely logical consequence of a constitutionally entrenched voice have to be effectively flushed out of them? What else are they not telling us? Are they saving future surprises for us, to be revealed only if a Yes vote is successful?

Craven is at least honest about the political power handed to the voice by the possibility of lawfare. He now publicly admits to the legal issues rising from the voice. “Politically and practically, delay (from litigation) often means death to proposed action,” he conceded recently.

It’s high time the PM came clean, too, and admitted what Williams, Davis, Craven, Langton and a couple of High Court judges now tell us: the power of the voice, at law, to delay, hinder and litigate gives it a potent veto in practice.

Given the sudden shifts from high-profile voice activists saying one thing last year, then another more recently, we have every reason to ask: when will the con job on the Australian people end?

For many years, constitutional lawyer and academic Shireen Morris has assured us that “a First Nations voice was specifically designed to be non-justiciable”.

That became a fiction the moment the Prime Minister released the words of his Albanese amendment at Garma last July. Surely it is time that Morris too admits that non-justiciability is a myth.

Likewise, we could ask the well-regarded constitutional lawyer and academic Anne Twomey whether she has done enough to ensure the Australian people are fully informed about the legal impact of the voice on parliamentary sovereignty.

Perhaps most disappointing among this cast of Yes lawyers is opposition legal affairs spokesman Julian Leeser. If Noel Pearson is right that Leeser, along with Craven and other so-called constitutional conservatives, agreed the earlier wording on which the Albanese amendment is modelled, then Leeser has been guilty of naivety – at best.

Pearson is entitled to be miffed, and so are Liberals who are deeply opposed to a race-based constitutionally entrenched body that would up-end our governance.

Let’s return to the fundamental problem. This is no “modest proposal” but a carefully crafted attempt to replace crown sovereignty, the sovereignty of all of us, with the co-sovereignty demanded by the Uluru statement. Armies of activists and academic lawyers have been beavering away for years trying to find ways of inserting into our Constitution the wedge that leads to this co-sovereignty. Either Leeser is a fool or he understands this.

It has become crystal clear that deception, dissembling and intimidation have been key to the whole campaign. Now, with significant parts of the great deception exposed, unwittingly, by these same voice activists, we are entitled to ask: what more haven’t they told us?

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/court-in-the-act-what-else-is-voice-lobby-not-telling-us/news-story/f279b11b87c561cd199291232b513aa4

>>18423004

Alleged paedophile principal complained of ‘unfair’ sacking after abuse allegations: court

A school principal alleged of paedophilia complained to a friend about her “unfair” sacking, telling her “I did nothing wrong” a court has heard.

Liam Beatty - March 1, 2023

Alleged paedophile principal Malka Leifer complained to a friend about her “unfair” sacking, telling her “I did nothing wrong”, a court has heard.

Ms Leifer, 56, is facing trial in the Victorian County Court after three sisters accused her of sexual abuse while she was principal at Adass Israel School in Melbourne’s southeast.

She has pleaded not guilty to 29 charges, including rape, sexual penetration of a child aged 16 or 17 and indecent assault, which allegedly occurred between 2003 and 2007.

The sisters, Nicole Meyer, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper, have each given NCA NewsWire permission to be named.

The Israeli mother of eight, who first moved to Australia in 2001 to take a teaching position at the school, has denied she did anything wrong.

“She had a proper and professional interaction with them as students,” her barrister Ian Hill KC previously told the jury.

On Tuesday, Esther Speigleman, the former head of general studies at Adass Israel School, took to the witness stand and told the jury she had many interactions with Ms Leifer as a colleague and friend.

She agreed she thought of Ms Leifer as a “devoted and hardworking principal” and said she spoke to her two days after she was stood down by the school board.

The jury heard Ms Leifer told her she felt what was happening was “unfair”, saying “I did nothing wrong”.

The court previously heard Ms Leifer left the school in March 2008 after a social worker in Israel, Chana Rabinowitz, allegedly contacted the school, who then referred the matter to police.

The jury was told Ms Rabinowitz had begun having counselling sessions with Dassi Erlich the year before, who disclosed that she had allegedly been sexually abused.

“She (Dassi Erlich) told her she was so naive, she had no idea what was happening at the time,” prosecutor Justin Lewis alleged.

On Monday, the court heard from Ms Erlich’s ex-husband, Joshua Erlich, who said he overheard his ex-partner on the phone with Ms Meyer in January 2008.

“She was saying she’s spoken to Rabinowitz; she had to disclose something about Ms Leifer,” he said.

“Ms Rabinowitz was taken aback and asking her more questions.

“She doesn’t understand why Rabinowitz is making a big deal about it and blowing it up out of proportion.”

Prosecutors have alleged the ultra-Orthodox principal took advantage of the sisters’ “vulnerable” home lives and their strict cultural upbringing.

She would allegedly tell each girl she “loved” them and explained the abuse as “help” for their wedding night.

But Mr Lewis told the jury the evidence would allegedly show she had a “tendency” to have a sexual interest in girls.

“The case is, we submit, she has a tendency to have a sexual interest in girls when they were teenage students and later when they worked at the school,” he alleged.

“She would (allegedly) take advantage of their vulnerability and her position of authority.”

The trial, before Judge Mark Gamble, continues.

https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/alleged-paedophile-principal-complained-of-unfair-sacking-after-abuse-allegations-court/news-story/bee12ff79b591353502e919b6123e6d1

Ghislaine Maxwell seeks to throw out sex trafficking conviction in Epstein case

Jonathan Stempel - March 1, 2023

NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Ghislaine Maxwell has asked a U.S. appeals court to throw out her conviction for helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls, saying a slew of errors marred her trial and prosecutors made her a scapegoat because the financier was dead.

"The government prosecuted Ms. Maxwell as a proxy for Jeffrey Epstein" to satisfy "public outrage" over the case, making the British socialite the target of unprecedented "vilification," Maxwell's lawyers said in a Tuesday night filing with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

Maxwell's lawyers offered several arguments for dismissing the case or granting a new trial, including that she was immune from prosecution, prosecutors waited too long to charge her, and one of her jurors was biased.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan declined to comment.

Maxwell, 61, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after a Manhattan jury convicted her in December 2021 on five charges for recruiting and grooming four girls for abuse by Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

Epstein killed himself at age 66 in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, one month after being charged with sex trafficking.

Maxwell's trial team had tried to discredit her accusers and claimed that prosecutors made her case a legal reckoning that Epstein, a registered sex offender, never had.

At Maxwell's trial, the accusers said Maxwell and Epstein at first made them feel welcome in their orbit before subjecting them into giving Epstein sexualized massages.

Hundreds of women claimed to be victims of Epstein's abuse, and famous people, most notably Britain's Prince Andrew, who were friendly with him have seen their reputations tarred or destroyed.

Maxwell, the daughter of late British media mogul Robert Maxwell, retained for her appeal a new legal team led by Arthur Aidala, who in 2020 represented the disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein at his first sex crimes trial.

'DISORIENTED AND DIMINISHED'

The appeal contains some arguments that mirrored arguments that Maxwell's previous lawyers had made unsuccessfully before, during and after her trial.

They include a contention that Epstein's 2007 non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in southern Florida, arising from alleged abuse at his Palm Beach mansion, also immunized her by shielding "potential co-conspirators" from prosecution.

Epstein, in exchange for immunity, pleaded guilty in 2008 to a Florida state prostitution charge and served 13 months in jail. That arrangement is now widely considered too lenient.

Maxwell's lawyers also said the charges were barred by a five-year statute of limitations, and that U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, who oversaw the trial, made multiple errors.

The lawyers said Nathan should have corrected juror confusion about what prosecutors needed to prove, and voided the conviction after one juror failed to disclose before trial that he had been sexually abused as a child.

"Ample evidence" showed that the juror known as Scotty David or Juror 50 "harbored actual bias," including his inability to separate his past from the evidence, and his statement that the verdict was "for all the victims," Maxwell's lawyers said.

Maxwell's appeal also highlighted other factors that allegedly made her trial unfair.

Prosecutors were accused of having "joined forces" with lawyers representing accusers who were seeking damages in civil litigation "to develop new allegations" against Maxwell.

Maxwell's lawyers also said her "deplorable" jail conditions - including claims of raw sewage, sleep and water deprivation, and hyper-surveillance - left her "so disoriented and diminished" that she could not meaningfully aid her defense.

Prosecutors are expected to respond to Maxwell's filing before the appeals court hears oral arguments.

Maxwell is imprisoned in Tallahassee, Florida. She is eligible for release in July 2037, with credit for good behavior and the two years she spent in jail.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/ghislaine-maxwell-ask-appeals-court-throw-out-sex-trafficking-conviction-2023-02-28/

https://www.realghislaine.com/

https://www.realghislaine.com/_files/ugd/ba2454_319a6ddb21754c349414d326e04109f7.pdf

https://www.realghislaine.com/_files/ugd/ba2454_6d2c1c3dc91a4b6eb8ea54709e1b8b42.pdf

https://www.realghislaine.com/_files/ugd/ba2454_336057e0afe34ad288b64d3391877192.pdf

Lisa Wilkinson seeks to defend Bruce Lehrmann defamation suit by proving rape claim

Michaela Whitbourn - March 1, 2023

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Veteran journalist Lisa Wilkinson will seek to prove former federal Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann raped his then-colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House as part of a truth defence to his defamation claim against her and Network Ten.

Lehrmann filed Federal Court defamation proceedings against Ten and Wilkinson last month over Wilkinson’s interview with Higgins on The Project, broadcast on February 15, 2021, and related publications on the 10Play website and YouTube.

Lehrmann alleges the publications convey four defamatory meanings, including that he “raped Brittany Higgins in [then-]Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’ office in 2019”.

He has filed a separate defamation claim against News Life Media, the News Corp company behind news.com.au, over two articles by political editor Samantha Maiden, also published on February 15, 2021.

Lehrmann’s lawyers have asked the court to extend a one-year limitation period for bringing a defamation claim because the interviews at the centre of the lawsuits, marking Higgins’ first comments in public, were published two years ago.

Wilkinson’s lawyers filed her written defence to the lawsuit in the Federal Court in Sydney on Wednesday and argue the limitation period should not be extended.

Wilkinson has opted to brief her own legal team, headed by Sydney defamation barrister Sue Chrysanthou, SC, while Ten will file a separate defence in the coming days. It raises the prospect the Federal Court may make different findings against each of Wilkinson and Ten about their legal responsibility for the broadcasts. Wilkinson left The Project last year but remains a Ten employee.

If the court extends the limitation period and allows Lehrmann’s case to proceed, Wilkinson will seek to rely on a series of defences to Lehrmann’s claim, including truth and qualified privilege.

In her written defence, Wilkinson does not dispute that the central defamatory claim of rape was conveyed, with a caveat that she does not admit that Lehrmann was identified by the broadcasts.

Lehrmann was not named by Ten or News Corp, but Lehrmann’s lawyers argue his identity would have been known to his political associates, friends and family, and the publications invited readers and viewers “to speculate” and search for third-party commentary online.

Wilkinson’s lawyers say she “does not know and cannot admit that the applicant [Lehrmann] was reasonably identified by any viewer of the first matter on 15 February 2021”.

They add that they have “sought particulars of identification from Lehrmann … and those particulars have not been sufficiently supplied”. However, Wilkinson “admits that if Lehrmann was so reasonably identified by any viewer on 15 February 2021, the first matter carried an imputation that Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins” in Parliament House in 2019.

If the case proceeds to trial and all defences are considered, Federal Court Justice Michael Lee, who is presiding over the case, will need to decide whether Wilkinson’s legal team has proven the rape took place on the balance of probabilities, that is, it is more likely than not that it did.

In a criminal trial where the liberty of an accused hangs in the balance, the prosecution is held to a much higher standard and must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

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Lehrmann was named in the media on August 7, 2021, after he was charged with one charge of sexual intercourse without consent.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge. His trial was aborted in October last year due to juror misconduct and the charge was later dropped altogether amid concerns about Higgins’ mental health. Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence.

Lawyers for Wilkinson say in her written defence that “Lehrmann was given multiple opportunities to respond before the first matter was broadcast”, including two emails.

“Each such approach … was timely, fair and reasonable, but despite that, Lehrmann elected not to respond at all,” the defence says.

An allegation of recklessness made by Lehrmann against Wilkinson in his statement of claim “is baseless, unjustified, unsupported by any fact and should be withdrawn”, her lawyers say.

Naming journalists as respondents to a defamation case does not mean they will be liable personally for any damages award. Ten and News Corp would cover any such order.

Wilkinson’s lawyers also seek to rely on the defence of qualified privilege, which relates to publications of public interest where a publisher has acted reasonably.

They say “Wilkinson is an experienced, accomplished and careful journalist of more than 40 years’ experience” who has “interviewed 10 Australian prime ministers and various other world leaders, reported from disaster zones, and reported on live breaking news on a daily basis”.

The lawyers set out Wilkinson’s sources and add that “to Wilkinson’s knowledge, extensive fact checking of the allegations made by Higgins was undertaken for some weeks” by Network Ten including senior lawyers, senior news and current affairs executive Peter Meakin, and The Project’s head of longform feature stories.

“Wilkinson understood that there was a consensus amongst those persons and Wilkinson that Higgins was a credible witness,” the defence says.

The defence adds that “Wilkinson at all relevant times understood that Network 10 employed an expert legal team with experience in pre-publication advice, including defamation and contempt”.

Lehrmann’s lawyers refer in his statement of claim to Higgins’ evidence in the ACT Supreme Court last year suggesting Wilkinson and Maiden were “fighting so that, come Walkleys time, who could claim what,” in an apparent reference to the timing of the release of the stories in 2021.

They allege the hurt and harm to Lehrmann was aggravated by the fact that the journalists were, in their words, seeking to “exploit” the allegations for “professional gain”.

But Wilkinson’s lawyers say in her defence that “Wilkinson had no contact with Samantha Maiden … about Higgins, her allegations, exclusivity or otherwise prior to the broadcast of the first matter or at any other relevant time thereafter”.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/wilkinson-seeks-to-defend-lehrmann-defamation-suit-by-proving-rape-claim-20230301-p5cogj.html

https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/107278/NSD103_2023-Defence-Lisa-Wilkinson.pdf

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Lisa Wilkinson ‘understood’ Brittany Higgins’ allegations against Bruce Lehrmann had been fact-checked: Defence

Lisa Wilkinson’s defence in her defamation case states she is “not a lawyer” and “understood” Ten’s colleagues had fact-checked Brittany Higgins’ allegations.

Clare Sibthorpe - March 2, 2023

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Lisa Wilkinson is “not a lawyer” and understood her interviews with Brittany Higgins were thoroughly checked by Channel 10’s legal team, her defence has claimed.

In the 23-page legal document defending Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation claim against her and her employer, Ms Wilkinson’s team claimed she was not familiar with defamation law and “would have complied with any and all” advice or request from lawyers to alter her reporting.

The defence – which pleads truth and qualified privilege – alleged Ms Wilkinson “at all relevant times” understood Network 10 employed an expert legal team with experience in “defamation and contempt”.

Mr Lehrmann launched legal action against Lisa Wilkinson and Network 10, as well as News Corp Australia’s News Life Media and news.com.au’s Samantha Maiden, over coverage of Higgins’ allegations in February 2021.

Legalling

The defence document filed by Ms Wilkinson’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC said it will prove Mr Lehrmann’s conduct “amounted to rape”.

It claimed Ms Wilkinson acted as a responsible journalist and outlined the steps she took in preparation for the story.

According to the defence, Ms Wilkinson was “informed and understood” the matters were reviewed by more than one lawyer, a number of times, prior to broadcast.

“Wilkinson did not receive any request or advice by Network 10 lawyers prior to the broadcast of the matters in relation to the allegations against Lehrmann in the final version broadcast,” the defence read.

Fact-checking

Ms Wilkinson’s defence referenced several senior producers and managers whom she “understood” and “was told” had fact-checked each of Ms Higgins’ allegations.

It read that “to Wilkinson’s knowledge,” extensive fact-checking was done “for some weeks” by Network 10, including by executive producer Craig Campbell, co-executive producer Chris Bendall, senior producer Angus Llewellyn, senior news and current affairs executive Peter Meakin and Laura Binnie – the Project’s head of long-form feature stories.

“Information obtained by Llewellyn … who Wilkinson understood in his role as Senior Producer in relation to the matters, was spending many hours working on the investigation, (of) which information was conveyed to Wilkinson in person or by telephone on an almost daily basis during the four-week investigation period leading up to broadcast of the matters,” the defence read.

“To Wilkinson’s mind, Meakin’s input and extensive news and current affairs experience was particularly crucial to the preparation and publication of the matters. Meakin had been running newsrooms at all the major free to air networks for more than five decades and was, in Wilkinson’s view, the most respected news executive in the country.”

A significant amount of work was done by Ms Wilkinson herself to test Ms Higgins’ allegations, the document claimed.

It stated the pair first spoke on the phone for about 90 minutes on or about January 20, 2021, when Ms Higgins “outlined her situation”.

Ms Wilkinson was then emailed a timeline of events, names of those who knew of Higgins’ allegations in 2019 and contemporaneous documents, emails and text confirming she complained of the rape at that time, it read.

“Wilkinson spoke to Higgins again via telephone on or about 23 January, 2021 for approximately 30 minutes in order to further question her to test the veracity of her allegations, and to obtain details that could be checked by Wilkinson and Network 10,” the defence claimed.

“Higgins came to Sydney to meet privately with Wilkinson and Network 10 Producer Llewellyn on or about 27 January, 2021 so that further discussions could take place to enable Wilkinson and Network 10 to consider the reliability of Higgins’ allegations. The meeting lasted approximately six hours and was recorded”.

The defence concluded that after fact-checking and a review of the matters by “an experienced team of news and current affairs professionals,” Wilkinson understood there was a consensus Ms Higgins was a credible witness.

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The night in question

The legal document outlines Ms Wilkinson’s position that Mr Lehrmann “took an intoxicated Higgins to Parliament House on 23 March, 2019 with the intention of having sexual intercourse with her, despite being in a monogamous relationship with a girlfriend.”

“He engaged in intercourse with Higgins and left her there on her own at about 3am, effectively naked and in an intoxicated state,’’ the legal filing states.

“In that time, he ignored 8 telephone calls from his girlfriend.”

The defence alleges: “Higgins fell asleep on the couch in (Senator Reynold’s) suite … Higgins woke some time later at about 2:30am and Lehrmann was on top of her having sexual intercourse with her … Higgins did not consent to the sexual intercourse with Lehrmann”.

It stated Mr Lehrmann “falsely denied having sexual intercourse with Higgins” to the Australian Federal Police on April 19, 2021.

“His dishonesty was deliberate and knowing and occurred in the course of the investigation of a crime, which amounted to perverting the course of justice,” it read.

Logies fallout

Mr Lehrmann was charged with sexual intercourse without consent in August 2021 and pleaded not guilty to the charge that was later dropped.

He has always denied having sex with Ms Higgins and any wrongdoing during the trial.

The bruising fallout from Ms Wilkinsons’ Logies speech resulted in a delay to the criminal trial.

The TV presenter came under fire after thanking Ms Higgins in her acceptance speech for the Outstanding News Coverage Logie award.

It prompted the Chief Justice of the ACT Supreme Court to delay the trial “through gritted teeth” from June to October, after defence lawyers argued it could prejudice the jury.

After the trial, a letter written by Network 10 executive vice-president Beverley McGarvey claimed that neither the network’s senior legal counsel or Ms Wilkinson realised they had been cautioned about the speech in a meeting with the Director of Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold.

“Neither Ms Wilkinson nor the Network Ten Senior Legal Counsel present at the conference with the DPP on June 15 2022 understood that they had been cautioned that Ms Wilkinson giving an acceptance speech at the Logie Awards could result in an application being made to the court to vacate the trial date,” the letter said.

“Had they understood that a specific warning had been given, Ms Wilkinson would not have given that speech.”

The first trial collapsed following juror misconduct and the DPP ultimately did not proceed, with a second citing Ms Higgins’ mental health.

Ms Wilkinson, who is one of the most highly paid presenters in Australian television, remains under contract to Network 10 but has not appeared on screen since she quit The Project in November.

When she quit the job last year, she cited the toll of the “targeted toxicity” from sections of the media.

Next steps

A hurdle Mr Lehrmann must jump over is whether his lawyers succeed in asking the court to extend a one-year limitation period on submitting a defamation claim.

His legal team lodged his submissions regarding the limitation extension to the Federal court on Wednesday, but these were not publicly released as they are considered restricted documents.

The defamation case’s first public hearing, which is expected to examine the application for an extension, is listed for March 16.

Mr Lehrmann, who is being represented by Mark O’Brien legal, has maintained his innocence since he was charged in August 2021.

This came six months after allegations were first made public accusing an unnamed staffer of sexually assaulting Ms Higgins in Parliament House in March 2019.

News Life Media has until March 7 to file its defence.

https://www.news.com.au/national/lisa-wilkinson-understood-brittany-higgins-allegations-against-bruce-lehrmann-had-been-factchecked-defence/news-story/fc9d022759f78c37c4c6271ae224b2de

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Higgins to give evidence for Wilkinson in Lehrmann defamation fight

Michaela Whitbourn and Zoe Samios - March 2, 2023

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Brittany Higgins is prepared to give evidence as part of Lisa Wilkinson’s truth defence in the defamation case brought against the veteran journalist by Bruce Lehrmann, who is suing over an interview that he says accuses him of raping Higgins in Parliament House.

Lehrmann, a former federal Liberal staffer, filed Federal Court defamation proceedings against Network Ten and Wilkinson last month over Wilkinson’s interview with his former colleague Higgins on The Project, broadcast on February 15, 2021, and related publications on the 10Play website and YouTube.

Lehrmann alleges the publications convey four defamatory meanings, including that he “raped Brittany Higgins in [then-]defence minister Linda Reynolds’ office in 2019”.

Wilkinson, who has briefed her own lawyers to represent her while Ten has a separate team, filed her written defence to the lawsuit in the Federal Court in Sydney on Wednesday. It is the first defence filed in the proceedings.

Wilkinson opposes time extension

The television star opposes Lehrmann’s application to the court to extend a one-year limitation period to allow him to sue over the broadcast, which is now two years old, but she has also indicated she will seek to rely on a range of defences if required, including a truth defence to the rape claim.

Sources close to Higgins, who declined to speak publicly while the matter is before the court, confirmed on Thursday that she would give evidence in the defamation trial, should it proceed and she is subpoenaed to appear. It is an offence to disobey a subpoena.

Despite rumours of a falling out, Higgins and Wilkinson remain close.

Wilkinson was approached for comment via her lawyer.

The truth defence

Wilkinson’s lawyers, headed by Sydney defamation barrister Sue Chrysanthou, SC, say in her written defence that she does not admit Lehrmann was identified by any viewer of the broadcast, which did not name him.

However, Wilkinson “admits that if Lehrmann was so reasonably identified by any viewer on 15 February 2021 … [the broadcast] carried an imputation that Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins” in Parliament House in 2019.

Wilkinson seeks to rely on a defence of qualified privilege, a defence related to publications of public interest where a publisher has acted reasonably. But, crucially, she also seeks to rely on a defence of truth.

The written defence sets out a series of allegations about Lehrmann’s conduct on the night of March 22, 2019, and says: “Lehrmann’s conduct … amounted to rape of Higgins in Parliament House in 2019”.

No right to silence

Should it proceed to trial and the truth defence is considered, Wilkinson’s lawyers will need to prove on the balance of probabilities – meaning it is more likely than not – that Lehrmann raped Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.

While this is less onerous than the criminal standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt, the so-called Briginshaw principle applies in civil cases involving serious allegations and requires courts to proceed cautiously in making grave findings.

Unlike in a criminal trial, Lehrmann does not have a right to silence and a judge may make adverse inferences if he fails to give evidence. He is expected to appear in the witness box and be cross-examined by barristers for Wilkinson and Ten.

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Truth is a high bar

University of Sydney Professor David Rolph, an expert in defamation law, said: “In our system of law, the defendant bears the onus of proof. The defendant will have to prove that the allegations are substantially true on the balance of probabilities, but taking into account the seriousness of the allegations.

“The defendant will have to prove truth by reference to admissible evidence.”

The plaintiff does not have to prove that an allegation is false.

It is not uncommon for media companies to seek to prove serious crimes in defamation cases. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age are seeking to defend a defamation suit brought by war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith by arguing he committed war crimes in Afghanistan. Roberts-Smith vehemently denies the allegations. Federal Court Justice Anthony Besanko reserved his decision last year.

In 2014, Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph indicated it would seek to rely on a truth defence in a defamation case brought against it by Gordon Wood, who was acquitted in 2012 of murdering his girlfriend Caroline Byrne. He accused the Telegraph of branding him a murderer. The defamation case ultimately settled out of court.

And in 2009, The Australian successfully defended a defamation suit brought against it by Serbian paramilitary leader Dragan Vasiljkovic. The NSW Supreme Court found the newspaper had proven Vasiljkovic was a death squad commander who had condoned the rape of women and girls.

University of Melbourne Law School Associate Professor Jason Bosland, director of the Media and Communications Law Research Network, said the truth defence “requires that the substance of the allegation be established”.

“In this instance, Lisa Wilkinson is trying to do that by establishing Lehrmann did in fact rape Brittany Higgins,” Bosland said.

“The strength of the evidence that you require to establish a particular fact on the balance of probabilities will depend on the nature of the allegation.

“That standard will be more difficult to satisfy where the allegation is serious. For example, an allegation of criminal conduct.”

Who is paying Wilkinson’s costs?

Wilkinson, who has been the subject of significant media attention over the lawsuit, has opted to brief her own legal team, headed by Chrysanthou, while Ten has briefed the Melbourne-based Matt Collins, KC.

It raises the prospect the Federal Court may make different findings against each of Wilkinson and Ten about their legal responsibility for the broadcasts. Wilkinson left The Project last year but remains a Ten employee.

Her lawyers say in her written defence that Wilkinson is “an employee for the purposes of the Employers’ Liability Act”, a NSW law that sets out the circumstances in which an employer is liable for their employees’ conduct, including for torts such as defamation.

That law says an employer is “liable to indemnify the employee in respect of liability incurred by the employee” in certain circumstances, and the usual position would be that Ten would be liable for Wilkinson’s costs and any damages payout.

News Corp defending separate case

Lehrmann has filed a separate defamation claim against News Life Media, the News Corp company behind news.com.au, over two articles by political editor Samantha Maiden, also published on February 15, 2021. News and Maiden are expected to file a defence within days.

Lehrmann was named in the media on August 7, 2021, after he was charged with one charge of sexual intercourse without consent.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge. His trial was aborted in October last year due to juror misconduct and the charge was later dropped altogether amid concerns about Higgins’ mental health. Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence.

The parties in both defamation proceedings are set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 16.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/higgins-to-give-evidence-for-wilkinson-in-lehrmann-defamation-fight-20230302-p5cotd.html

Muslim and Christian communities to protest at Sydney’s Hyde Park over Jesus joke on The Project

ADELLA BEAINI - MARCH 2, 2023

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Christian and Muslim leaders have dismissed Channel 10’s apology for a “disgusting” joke mocking their faith and have revealed plans to protest at Sydney’s Hyde Park.

Thousands of viewers unleashed their anger on social media after queer comedian Reuben Kaye made a gag on its prime-time show The Project about Jesus on Tuesday night.

Reuben explained that he regularly gets people negatively messaging him on TikTok and they criticise his sexuality from a “religious angle”.

“I think it’s hilarious when someone messages me and says, ‘You have to accept Jesus’ love or you will burn in hell,’ because I love Jesus,” Kaye said.

“I love any man who can get nailed for three days straight and come back for more.”

The Project host Waleed Aly and his fellow host Sarah Harris burst out laughing along with the other panellists.

The severe backlash forced the hosts to issue an apology on-air on Wednesday night.

“Live TV is unpredictable and when this happens in the last few moments of last night’s show it genuinely took us by surprise,” Harris said.

Aly, who is Muslim himself, said: “It’s fair we weren’t expecting a comment like that…..we acknowledge the offence and we are sorry.”

But the controversial guest shrugged off the criticism and even poked fun at the situation by uploading an Instagram reel captioning it: “Some heroes don’t wear capes… They wear lashes.”

Aussie actor Nathaniel Buzolic — who has over 3 million followers — commented on Kaye’s post condemning him.

“You mock our God cause you think there is no consequence. And your right there will not be a consequence from those who follow Jesus.

“If you were to mock Muhammad and islam in the same manner you just mocked Jesus you wouldn’t be so bold, you wouldn’t be so celebrated and you wouldn’t be so physically safe.

“We as Christians will pray for you for you not to fear the one who can only destroy the body. But rather the one who can destroy both the body and the soul.”

Australian Islamic identity Steve Dabliz told News Corp that a protest will be organised at Sydney’s Hyde Park with Muslim and Christian leaders saying the apology is not enough.

“Mocking Jesus or making derogatory remarks about him is a grave act of disbelief and goes against the fundamental principles of Islam. Such actions not only show a lack of respect for the religious beliefs of others,” he said.

“The Christian and Muslim community, in particular, has been deeply hurt by this incident, and we stand in solidarity with them.

“As Australians, we value respect and tolerance for all faiths and beliefs, and it is important to uphold these values in our media and public discourse.

“We hope that this incident serves as a reminder of the need to promote mutual understanding and respect among all communities.”

(continued)

Edmund Rice Education Australia issues apology to parents at Victorian school for failing to meet obligations under child safe standards

Louise Milligan and Mary Fallon - 2 March 2023

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A multi-billion-dollar body overseeing seven Catholic schools in Victoria, including Melbourne's St Kevin's College, has written to apologise to parents after receiving a notice that it has failed to carry out its obligations under child safe standards or to demonstrate appropriate oversight of child safety.

The process began in 2020 after St Kevin's and its governing body, Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA), were referred to the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) following a Four Corners investigation, Boys Club, into the school, which alleged a toxic culture that prized reputation over child safety.

The notice to EREA means it must now urgently reform its governance structure and ensure its schools undergo a review by the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria.

The Four Corners investigation revealed that when St Kevin's student Paris Street was abused by an athletics coach, the school's then-headmaster wrote a reference for the coach to be read to the court after his 2015 conviction for grooming.

St Kevin's then-dean of sport also gave character evidence for the coach, but Paris Street and his friend Ned O'Brien, who gave evidence in support of him, were not supported by the school when they appeared in court.

Within a week of the story airing in February 2020, the headmaster, his deputy, the dean of sport and the dean of studies had all stepped aside from their roles and since then, many other teachers have also had to resign.

After the fallout of the story, the trustees of EREA were required to enter into an enforceable undertaking with the VRQA that they would address the shortcomings in the organisation's governance, which did not meet minimum standards under Victorian law.

The letter from EREA, sent to St Kevin's parents on Wednesday afternoon, said "these shortcomings were not adequately addressed by the Trustees of EREA within agreed timeframes".

That resulted in a notice being sent to EREA in January this year, because, the letter to parents from EREA Chair Philomena Billington said, EREA had not "carried out our obligations under the required Child Safe Standards … or structured our governance in a way that met our legal responsibilities, including providing a duty of care to students".

It said EREA had also not complied with timelines in the 2020 enforceable undertaking and "had not demonstrated appropriate oversight of child safety at Victorian schools".

"I would like to apologise on behalf of [EREA] to each of you and to the Victorian schools," Ms Billington wrote to parents in the letter.

"As the governing body of EREA schools in Victoria, it was [our] responsibility to make the necessary changes with focus and urgency within the required timeframes.

"While we made changes, these were not enough."

(continued)

Catholic church uses paedophile’s death to try to block NSW survivor’s lawsuit

Case is latest in series where church seeks to capitalise on landmark ruling that a priest’s death meant church could not receive a fair trial

Christopher Knaus - 2 Mar 2023

The Catholic church is attempting to use the death of a paedophile, who had been jailed for the abuse of 17 children, to shield itself from further civil claims from his survivors.

In recent months, the church has adopted an increasingly aggressive approach to survivors in cases where paedophile clergy have died. It has sought to capitalise on a recent decision in New South Wales’s highest court that ruled a priest’s death meant the church could not receive a fair trial in a claim brought by a woman known as GLJ.

The landmark ruling, which is being appealed in the high court, has prompted the church to seek permanent stays in a string of cases where clergy have died.

The latest involves a claim brought by Mark Peters, a pseudonym, who alleges he was sexually assaulted as a student at a primary school run by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic order, in 1969 and 1970.

The alleged perpetrator was sentenced to a lengthy term of imprisonment for sexually assaulting 17 victims in 2015. Church lawyers attempted to interview him about his conduct but he declined, and told them he did not wish to be contacted by them or the Marist Brothers again.

He died between 2015 and the lodging of Peters’ claim in 2021.

Marist Brothers is arguing its inability to obtain a witness statement from the alleged perpetrator, due to his death, means it cannot receive a fair trial.

The hearing of the permanent stay will take place later this month.

Peters, represented by Koffels Solicitors and Barristers, had attempted to delay the hearing to allow a high court appeal in the GLJ case to be finalised. The NSW supreme court rejected the request to delay last month.

The church’s approach in such cases has prompted widespread concern and representations to the NSW attorney general, Mark Speakman.

It takes survivors on average more than 22 years to make a complaint, due to the huge barriers they face, making it common for clergy to have died by the time they seek justice.

Recognition of the delay and the work of the child abuse royal commission led all Australian jurisdictions to scrap their statute of limitations for such cases.

Law firms that regularly handle child sexual abuse cases say the ruling in the GLJ case has encouraged and emboldened the church and other institutions to seek permanent stays in the many cases where paedophile clergy had died, even “where evidence indicates a propensity for child abuse”.

In the GLJ case, there was clear evidence that high-ranking church officials knew the priest was abusing boys at least four years before GLJ’s alleged assault, but did not remove him from the clergy, instead shuffling him through parishes where he continued to abuse children.

Multiple firms representing abuse survivors say they have also noticed a significant shift in the church’s attitude to negotiating in such cases, adopting an aggressive approach to pressure survivors to accept “paltry amounts” while citing the risk their claims will be permanently stayed.

Maurice Blackburn’s NSW abuse law leader, Danielle De Paoli, said the impact of the GLJ decision and similar rulings had been “significantly detrimental on our clients”.

“It has been most noticeably felt in the Catholic church-type matters,” she told the Guardian. “The dioceses, Marist, across any of those Catholic entities, is where they are playing a bit more hardball, where they are taking the point.

“A lot of clients are obviously really, really disappointed. They will often say it is yet another underhanded tactic by the church to … continue to push their problems away.

“It just adds to the trauma that they’re already experiencing.”

The Guardian approached the Marist Brothers for a response.

The church has previously declined to comment on the GLJ case, which is now before the high court. But it said in June that its strategy would “continue to be guided by the unique facts and circumstances of each case”.

The church’s lawyers said: “Whilst our client normally desires to assist the media, it is inappropriate to make any further statements whilst the time period for applying to the high court has not yet expired.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/02/catholic-church-uses-paedophile-priests-death-to-try-to-block-nsw-survivors-lawsuit

>>18427776

British Air Force Chief details joint efforts with Australia to stop China poaching retired fighter pilots

Andrew Greene - 2 March 2023

The visiting head of Britain's Royal Air Force has detailed how he's worked with Australia to prevent former fighter pilots from taking lucrative training jobs with the Chinese military.

In an interview during the Avalon International Air Show, Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston declared he was confident the threat of Beijing luring western military personnel had now been "nipped in the bud".

"We made the decision to go public on this in a very loud, clear way, that it's unacceptable and it's something that we were prepared to call China out [on] publicly," Air Chief Marshal Wigston told the ABC.

"Since then, we've had a number of people come to us, to the authorities saying, 'I've been approached, this has happened to me' — the level of awareness, and I think that's reflected internationally now, that's reassured me that we've got the message across".

"I'm confident that this approach, has nipped this in the bud, this problem in the bud," the visiting Air Chief Marshal predicted.

"Because of our close intelligence relationship with Australia and other allies, we all shared that information, we were all alert to it, and we have been in lock step with the Australian authorities throughout this process."

Following the UK's warnings in October, Defence Minister Richard Marles ordered his department to investigate if Australian personnel had also been approached and what regulations may be needed to prevent retired personnel from sharing military secrets with potential adversaries.

Last month, the head of ASIO confirmed Australian veterans had been targeted by other nations and hit out at those personnel who had put "cash before country" by working for authoritarian regimes, describing them as "top tools" more than "top guns".

The Royal Air Force's Air Chief Marshal says he doesn't believe any other potentially hostile nations apart from China were trying to recruit western military personnel, but the UK is examining how it could better implement sanctions under the Official Secrets Act.

"We are certainly engaging with the people that have gone to work in China, and the people who might be thinking about it because they've been approached, just to make it very clear where we stand on that".

ADF pilots still operating remote killer drones from UK

The visiting Air Chief Marshal has also confirmed that a small number of ADF pilots are still remotely operating lethal Reaper drones from the UK, despite Australia last year cancelling plans to buy the deadly unmanned technology.

In April, the ABC revealed 32 Australian personnel were embedded in "unmanned aerial system units" in the UK, while one other was operating the remote lethal technology in the United States.

Soon after the former Morrison government cancelled the $1.3 billion SkyGuardian project, which would have seen the Australian military acquire armed drones for the first time.

Despite the scrapping of the project, Air Chief Marshal Wigston has revealed some Australian pilots are continuing to operate the killer drones for the UK.

"We have a very close collaboration with the Australian Air Force in this regard," Air Chief Marshal Wigston said.

"In the same way as the Australian Air Force has helped us rapidly bring the P-8 (Poseidon) into service, rapidly bring the E-7 (Wedgetail) into service, then we can reciprocate by sharing as much as we can, and we are doing [for] our drone operations".

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-02/british-air-force-chief-australia-stop-pilots-working-with-china/102035536

Trump attacks Murdoch for ‘throwing his anchors under the table’

AP and staff reporters - March 2, 2023

Donald Trump has attacked Rupert Murdoch in a blistering statement, accusing him of betraying his Fox News television hosts by admitting that he doubted their conclusions about the 2020 election.

“Why is Rupert Murdoch throwing his anchors under the table,” the former US president posted to his platform Truth Social.

“There is MASSIVE evidence of voter fraud & irregularities in the 2020 Presidential Election,” Trump wrote, repeating the lie he has promoted since losing the election to Joe Biden.

Trump claims that Murdoch’s testimony in which the Australia-born executive expressed doubt over some of the TV network’s popular commentators’ statements would “kill” Murdoch’s defence against the lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Machines following the 2020 election.

Murdoch testified that the TV network’s commentators “endorsed” Donald Trump’s conspiracy theory about the 2020 presidential election, even though Murdoch himself said he doubted the claim.

“They endorsed,” Murdoch said under oath in response to direct questions about hosts Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo, a legal filing by Dominion Voting Systems said.

In the $US1.6 billion ($2.4 billion) suit, Dominion claims it has been defamed by Fox News, whose hosts repeated the false claim that its voting machines could be manipulated to aid Biden’s tally.

“I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight,” Murdoch added, while also disclosing that he was always dubious of Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud.

In Trump’s statement, he urges the public to view a discredited stolen election “documentary” to see “large-scale ballot stuffing caught on government cameras”.

In a related move, Democratic leaders sent a letter to Fox News executives demanding the network stop spreading misinformation about the 2020 election and for its hosts to admit on air they were wrong to do so.

The fracas over the 2020 election comes as Trump plans to visit Iowa in mid-March, the first foray to the lead-off caucus state since announcing his 2024 White House campaign.

The former president hinted at an Iowa trip “very soon” in a radio interview with Des Moines talk show host Simon Conway on Tuesday.

A Trump aide confirmed on Wednesday that plans were underway for an upcoming appearance, but declined to provide details about the location or date, beyond the middle of this month.

The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not been publicly announced.

“We’re planning something very soon,” Trump told Conway on WHO radio. “And then we’ll be coming back at least a couple of times before the election.”

Trump has been notably absent in Iowa, where Republican candidate Nikki Haley, his former UN ambassador, and potential rivals Mike Pence, the former vice president, and Senator Tim Scott, have visited after a slow start to campaigning in the state.

Some Iowa Republican activists, including Gloria Mazza, chairwoman of the Polk County Republicans, representing Iowa’s most populous county, have noted that Trump has stayed away so far. Trump travelled in January to New Hampshire, scheduled to host the first Republican presidential primary next year, and South Carolina, the South’s first primary.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-attacks-murdoch-for-throwing-his-anchors-under-the-table-20230302-p5cor5.html

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/109942436145196040

THOMAS W. TREFTS

>>18432693

Bruce Lehrmann could face cross-examination in two weeks over Lisa Wilkinson defamation case timing

Exclusive: Federal court is expected to sit on 16 March for a preliminary hearing that will focus on the significant delay in filing the claim

Christopher Knaus - 3 Mar 2023

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Bruce Lehrmann could be called to face cross-examination in two weeks’ time to explain why he did not file defamation proceedings against Lisa Wilkinson and Network Ten within the usual 12-month time limit.

The federal court is expected to sit on 16 March for a preliminary hearing in the Lehrmann defamation proceedings, which will focus on the significant delay in his filing of the defamation claim against Wilkinson and Network Ten.

Defamation claims are typically required to be filed within 12 months of the relevant publication. But in this case, Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson’s interviews with Brittany Higgins and the related publications were published in February 2021, two years before Lehrmann began proceedings.

Lehrmann’s legal team is pushing for the limitation period to be extended.

But Wilkinson and Network Ten’s lawyers have the power to seek leave to call Lehrmann and scrutinise the reasons he has given for the delay.

That path – if allowed by the court – would see Lehrmann give evidence in open court for the first time.

A source close to Lehrmann confirmed to the Guardian that he had received a request to appear and that he would do so without objection.

If Lehrmann’s bid for a time extension fails, his case against Network Ten and Wilkinson will collapse without the court hearing the substance of his claim.

The federal court has previously ruled that defendants in defamation proceedings have the power to call plaintiffs to cross-examine them about their reasons for not meeting the limitation period.

In a key 2021 case also against Network Ten, the full bench of the federal court ruled that the broadcaster had the power to “challenge the credibility of the information” given by the plaintiff on his reasons for delay by simply making a request that he be made available for cross-examination.

“Had Network Ten made such a request and [the plaintiff] failed or refused to call himself without reasonable cause, her Honour could have exercised a power under s 169(1) to order him to be called as a witness or exclude any evidence the subject of the request,” the court ruled.

“It did not do so. Accordingly, his evidence should be considered as unchallenged, albeit subject to an assessment of its weight.”

(continued)

>>18438320

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Lehrmann’s claims against Wilkinson and Network Ten relate to Wilkinson’s interview with Higgins on The Project, which aired on 15 February 2021, and related publications on the network’s website and on YouTube.

Lehrmann alleges the broadcasts carried four defamatory imputations, including that he “raped Brittany Higgins in Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’ office in 2019” and that he “continued to rape Brittany Higgins after she woke up mid-rape and was crying and telling him to stop at least half a dozen times”.

Wilkinson is defending the claim and, should it proceed to trial, will rely on defences of justification and qualified privilege. She is also expected to argue that Lehrmann was not identified in the broadcasts.

He was not named in the initial interview or related publications but says that the media companies invited speculation about his identity and that it would have been known to colleagues and friends and family.

Lehrmann has denied the allegation that he raped Higgins and pleaded not guilty at his aborted trial in the ACT supreme court last year. Prosecutors did not seek a retrial due to concerns about Higgins’s mental health.

Lehrmann did not give evidence in the criminal trial, as is his right, but the court did watch recordings of his interview with police.

Regardless of whether he appears on 16 March, it is highly likely Lehrmann would give evidence later if the matter reaches trial.

Experts say it is very rare for plaintiffs not to give evidence in defamation proceedings, because they need to show that they suffered hurt and harm from the defamatory content.

Lehrmann is also suing News Corp and journalist Samantha Maiden, who first broke the story about Higgins’s allegations.

In his case against Network Ten and Wilkinson, Lehrmann alleges the “respondents were recklessly indifferent to the truth or falsity of the imputations” and alleges he was not given a reasonable opportunity to respond.

Wilkinson has denied that suggestion, saying her team gave him multiple opportunities to respond. She has also outlined the care the reporting team took to fact-check and corroborate with other sources. Wilkinson also denied a suggestion that she and Maiden were “fighting” over exclusive publication of the story, saying she had no contact with the News Corp journalist about the timing of publication or exclusivity.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/03/bruce-lehrmann-could-face-cross-examination-in-two-weeks-over-lisa-wilkinson-defamation-case-timing

>>18422955

>>18427699

Covid-19 origin saga a grim tale of CCP stonewalling

CLAIRE LEHMANN - MARCH 3, 2023

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The US Department of Energy has concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic likely originated from a research accident in a Chinese lab. While the DoE asserts this conclusion with “low confidence”, it now joins the FBI, which has come to the same conclusion with confidence in the “moderate” range.

“The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan,” FBI director Christopher Wray told Fox News on Tuesday.

The US intelligence agencies have not reached a consensus on the lab leak hypothesis, however. The CIA says it doesn’t know where Covid came from and White House national security spokesman John Kirby has said the Biden administration hasn’t reached a consensus on Covid’s origins.

But while the FBI has been conducting its own investigation into Covid’s origins since 2020, the DoE is uniquely placed to assess crucial evidence.

The DoE’s Sandia National Laboratories, built during World War II in conjunction with the Manhattan Project, provide scientific support to America’s national security program. The labs develop technologies in biodefence and the understanding of infectious diseases – both naturally occurring and man-made. If the US has technologies that can identify whether a virus is wholly or partially synthetic, these labs are likely to have them.

Of course, we do not know how the release of this new information relates to the recent spy-balloon incident or China’s apparent plan to supply Russia with hundreds of suicide drones by April. Some analysts have described the timing of the announcement as “interesting”. But while the timing may indeed be interesting from a strategic perspective, it is a reminder of the high price Australia paid for simply asking the question of where Covid originated.

Although it brought us pain, it was courageous for Marise Payne, the foreign minister at the time, to call for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19 in the early stages of the pandemic. Crucially, Payne suggested the World Health Organisation should not be in charge of such an investigation – a suggestion that would prove to be prescient. Payne also was backed by Chris Bowen, in a commendable display of bipartisan support.

In early 2020, Scott Morrison telephoned world leaders to discuss the WHO – including a proposed plan for reforming its governance. Morrison advocated for outbreak investigators, much like weapons inspectors, who could be dispatched to collect evidence vital to global security.

Addressing a press conference in Canberra in April 2020, Morrison said: “The implications and impacts of this (virus) are extraordinary … it would seem entirely reasonable and sensible that the world would want to have an independent assessment of how this all occurred, so we can learn the lessons and prevent it from happening again.”

Of course, we know what happened next. China initiated a trade war against Australia and imposed sanctions on Australian products from beef and lamb to timber and wine. Trawlers full of lobster sat idle off Australian ports. And a Chinese Communist Party official shared a doctored image depicting an Australian soldier slitting the throat of an Afghan child. Students were warned that they might be subjected to “racist incidents” in Australia. And Hu Xijin, of the Global Times, described Australia as “the gum stuck to China’s shoe”.

(continued)

>>18438337

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Steadfast in the face of economic coercion, Morrison repeated his call for a thorough investigation into the origins of Covid in September 2020 at the UN General Assembly in Manhattan: “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.”

In January 2021, the WHO began its investigation into the origins of Covid. But it did not possess the powers that Morrison had lobbied for. The WHO failed to secure data from Beijing and concluded its investigation by coming to no conclusion. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained when he released his report that “as far as WHO is concerned all hypotheses remain on the table”. It was all for nothing.

In the wake of the WHO’s unconvincing report, CCP officials maintain that Covid-19 did not originate from a laboratory in Wuhan and have even suggested the virus originated from US labs in Fort Detrick instead. But as Sharri Markson reported for The Australian in 2021, US intelligence agencies know that three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology were hospitalised with respiratory illnesses in November 2019 – just one month before the Chinese government reported the first cases of Covid.

We may never know what real­ly happened in Wuhan. But we do know CCP officials have a pattern of spreading disinformation about Covid and will describe surveillance airships travelling into the territory of other nations as weather balloons, with apparently no shame.

To date, more than 19,000 Australians have died from Covid. While official records indicate that at least 6.9 million confirmed deaths have occurred worldwide, The Economist estimates that the real figure is two to four times higher. The US, the richest nation in the world, estimates that 1.1 million of its citizens have died.

While the Australian government may have made several mistakes during the pandemic, urging China to be transparent was not one of them.

Claire Lehmann is the founding editor of Quillette.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/covid19-origin-saga-a-grim-tale-of-ccpstonewalling/news-story/3477ca3c0a2bb554a609098326a56020

Quad tells China to follow the rules

WILL GLASGOW - MARCH 3, 2023

China has no reason to fear the Quad, say the top diplomats of Japan, Australia, India and the US, so long as Beijing “abides by” international rules.

Speaking on a panel with her Quad counterparts at a geopolitics summit held on the sidelines of the G20 in New Delhi on Friday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Quad was a “lighthouse” that “enables choices” for countries in the Indo-Pacific.

Japan’s Foreign Minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said China should not feel threatened by the group.

“We don’t try to exclude anybody. This is open architecture. So one thing we would like to say is, just abide by the law of international ruling institutions. And as long as China abides by … the international institutions, standards and rules, then this is not a conflicting issue between China and the Quad,” Mr Hayashi told the Raisina Dialogue, New Delhi’s top geopolitics summit.

Beijing once dismissed the Quad, saying it would “dissipate like sea foam”, but in recent years has become much more concerned, casting it as a US-created tool to “contain China”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host fellow Quad leaders, US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in Australia later this year.

A recent survey of influential Southeast Asians found the Quad is widely supported by elites in the region. Singapore-based research centre the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute found just over 50 per cent of the 1300 people surveyed thought the Quad was “positive and reassuring” for Southeast Asia. Only 12 per cent disagreed.

India’s Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, said the Quad was much more than just a grouping to oppose China. “We do stand for something. What I would not like to be defined as is standing against something, or someone, because that diminishes me. That makes it out as though some other people are the centre of the world,” Dr Jaishankar said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said the Quad was a force for “good positive affirmative action” and was focused on “concrete, practical needs” for countries in the region.

Mr Biden’s top envoy said the Quad was allowing the four countries to “amplify” their influence in the international system.

“You have Quad countries that are also chairing, in this moment, the G7, the G20, APEC, and that too gives us an ability to amplify,” Mr Blinken said.

The four envoys were speaking after a Friday morning meeting. There was no direct mention of China in their joint statement, but Beijing was the clear target of criticism over destabilising behaviour in the region.

“We strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo or increase tensions in the area,” the statement read. “We express serious concern at the militarisation of disputed features, the dangerous use of coastguard vessels and maritime militia, and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities.”

The Quad meeting took place a day after Senator Wong met in New Delhi with new Chinese counterpart Qin Gang.

Senator Wong said the meeting was “another step towards stabilising our relationship” and Australia looked forward to “continued engagement”. “We can grow our relationship and safeguard our national interests if we navigate our differences wisely.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/quad-to-china-follow-the-rules/news-story/bcedcfeeb16984f87548f4eab8421167

Cheap Australian drones made of cardboard helping Ukrainian troops

BEN PACKHAM - MARCH 3, 2023

Cheap Australian drones made of cardboard and rubber bands are helping Ukrainian troops fight off Russian invaders, as part of a $33m commitment to supply the ­country with an array of unmanned systems.

At least 100 of the flat-packed drones are being supplied to Ukraine each month, allowing ­President Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces to drop bombs, deliver supplies and undertake vital reconnaissance missions.

The Australian army is yet to purchase any of the catapult-launched aircraft for its own use, in a story familiar to many local defence sector innovators.

The unmanned aerial vehicles, made by Melbourne-based Sypaq, are designed to be expendable on the battlefield, but some in Ukraine have undertaken 60 flights.

The Precision Payload Delivery System drones are constructed from thick, wax-coated cardboard and heavy-duty rubber bands that secure the wings.

They are controlled by a ­military-grade guidance system that requires no user input once the aircraft is launched.

At somewhere between $1000 and $5000 each – the exact cost is classified – they can be used to overwhelm opposing forces in a contest of attrition, forcing the enemy to use more expensive hardware to take them out.

The Australian viewed the drone at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon, in Victoria, where Defence Minister Richard Marles and Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko were also provided with a first-hand briefing on the aircraft.

Mr Myroshnychenko said the appearance of the drone was deceptive, and they were already being used by Ukrainian soldiers for a variety of missions, including lethal ones.

“When you look at it, it looks like something that kids would play with,” the ambassador said.

“But when you see what it can do it’s really amazing.

“From what I hear they have been very good at inflicting lots of damage on the enemy.

“Our drone teams within MOD are very sophisticated guys. There is a great deal of R&D and innovation going on in that ­department. And because they run a large number of UAVs they have become some of the best teams in the world.”

Revelation of the role Australian drones were playing in Ukraine emerged as the war-torn nation denied it was behind a string of drone attacks inside Russian territory on Tuesday, including one that crashed barely 90km from the Kremlin.

Russian media said the drone had fallen within metres of a gas distribution station owned by Gazprom, the state-controlled energy giant. It was identified as a UJ-22 Airborne, a strike drone with a range of almost 800km manufactured by Ukraine’s Ukrjet company.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, tweeted on Thursday: “Ukraine doesn’t strike at the Russian Federation’s territory. Ukraine is waging a defensive war to de-occupy all its terri­tories.”

Sypaq developed the cardboard drone, which comes in 3kg and 5kg payload sizes, to meet a need identified by the Australian army for “last-mile logistics”.

It is yet to receive any ADF ­orders, but Sypaq chief engineer Ross Osborne said the aircraft met one of the key challenges being experienced by the Ukrainian military – getting large numbers of drones into the theatre. “The flat pack is a key feature there,” he said. “We can stack these up on a pallet. We also developed modular avionics and propulsion sets that can hopefully achieve a bit of reuse.”

He said the company spent a lot of time on the design “so that someone who wasn’t a UAS (unmanned aerial system) specialist could operate it”.

“For me, I’m so proud to see our systems go into a conflict zone,” Mr Osborne said.

“Ukraine was already a very capable UAS customer, but a ­customer that doesn’t speak the best English. And they’ve been able to take our system with no training from us, just instructions and ­videos, and deploy them really successfully.”

Mr Osborne said the drone had a high level of autonomy once launched. “When it’s operating with no data link, obviously it’s set and forget, and it does a great job of flying down range, monitoring the terrain and figuring out a landing pattern and approach, given the weather conditions,” he said.

The $33m unmanned systems commitment brings Australia’s military support for Ukraine so far to $510m.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/cheap-australian-drones-made-of-cardboard-helping-ukrainian-troops/news-story/72e4913bc4f34c2b3fbfc8921fc2bc58

Australia's Space Command pushes for 'soft kill' capability to take out enemy satellites

Andrew Greene - 3 March 2023

The head of the ADF's Space Command says Australia is working on a plan to acquire "soft-kill" capabilities to take out enemy satellites without creating dangerous debris.

One year since the command was established, Air Vice Marshal Cath Roberts has given an update on its initial activities and the threats posed to Australian assets in space.

Air Vice Marshal Roberts says since the launch of Defence Space Command in March 2022, the number of satellites in space had more than doubled to around 8000.

"I think it's a really important part of where we're going to is just looking at how we can have that electronic warfare capability to allow us to deter attacks, or certainly interfere."

Speaking at the Avalon Air Show, the inaugural Australian Space Commander said her organisation needed to quickly secure "soft kill", or "non-destructive" capabilities to take out enemy satellites.

"We are working on making sure that we've got a level of capability so that we can deter attacks on our satellites … through non-kinetic means so that we can have some impact".

Last year, top ranking members of the US Space Force described Australia as a "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow", saying the country's geography was "prime" for future space operations.

"Geography is really important. We need to be able to see to protect, and we can see a lot from here," Vice Admiral Roberts said.

"And that goes for non-kinetic effects from the ground too, because it's what you can see and where you can effect it".

"I think it's a really important part of where we go … looking at how we can have that sort of electronic warfare-type of capability to allow us to deter attacks or certainly interfere [with enemy satellites]."

China launched more satellites than US last year

Improved space capabilities are believed to be a central recommendation of the Defence Strategic Review, which the government is expected to formally respond to in coming days or weeks.

"You need access to space to do the 'precision-guided' for the precision-guided weapons; you need it for the intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance; and you need it for the command and control through the satellite communication systems," Air Vice-Marshal Roberts said.

"What I can talk about is the fact that for many of the capabilities that we need, space is absolutely essential, both from the Australian public point of view but also from a Defence point of view."

The Space Commander said China had done more satellite launches last year than the United States, and said the country was very active.

"I remember I was briefing the deputy prime minister just before Christmas, I was just saying, 'in the last week 40-odd more [Chinese] satellites went up'."

"So they are launching on a regular cadence. They have many, many satellites in orbit and a large percentage of those 8000 satellites that are up there."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-03/adf-space-command-pushes-for-soft-kill-capability-for-satellites/102045496

In the Philippines, terrible crimes against children are often facilitated by their mothers

Stephanie March - 2 March 2023

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Warning: This story contains details of sexual abuse.

Marie was lying on a mattress with her children on the floor of their home in Manila when the agents burst in.

One of the children was resting on a pink Minnie Mouse pillow. A backpack and a white school shirt hung from a hook.

Above the bed, a strip light was strapped to a wire.

Marie sat up, looking deeply confused and worried. An agent told the children to find something to cover their faces before leading them away to a van.

That was three weeks ago. Marie, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, hasn't seen the children since.

"I feel like I'm dying," she told Foreign Correspondent from an interview room attached to a crowded cell in the National Bureau of Investigation detention centre in the Philippines capital.

Wearing an orange prison T-shirt, she sobbed as she spoke about her three children. It was the first time they had all been apart.

"No-one who is a mother is going to want this – kids not [being] with them," she said.

But Marie has been charged with reprehensible crimes.

As agents from the National Bureau of Investigation took the children away, the investigators combed through items in the bedroom of her home, a two-bedroom rental in a maze of narrow pathways.

They placed phones and sex toys into clear evidence bags.

A female investigator told Marie she was being arrested for violating the anti-trafficking persons act and for child pornography.

She stared at the investigator, then looked at the warrant papers in front of her. "Where do I sign?" she asked.

The facilitators

In 2020, as COVID-19 spread and millions became confined to their homes, reports of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children in the Philippines more than doubled.

Many of the predators are Australians.

In response, the Philippines government last year declared "war" on the crime and vowed to ramp up efforts to arrest perpetrators and rescue child victims.

But it's complex and often heartbreaking work for the authorities fighting this hidden crime wave.

"It's a really hard crime type, it's oftentimes very grotesque and violent," said Caleb Carroll, a former US police detective who works with the non-government organisation International Justice Mission in Manila.

The crime itself is disturbingly simple.

An offender in another country meets a Filipino "facilitator" online, often on social media or a dating app.

From there, for a price, the facilitator arranges for a child to be sexually abused or exploited live on camera.

English is widely spoken in the Philippines meaning predators can easily communicate with facilitators, and even the children.

"You're talking about sexually motivated offenders getting to basically direct in real time the kind of abuse they want to see," said Caleb Carroll.

Such real-time exchanges can be fiendishly difficult for police to detect. Much of the evidence vanishes as soon as the video call ends.

On the front line

In a pokey office above the dormitory for new recruits at the Philippines National Police, an international task force is helping fight the Philippines' "war" on online child exploitation.

The Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center is made up of experts and police from the Philippines, Australia, the UK, the Netherlands and the US.

Its mission is to help local authorities hunt down the facilitators and to locate abused children, often by gathering leads and information from foreign police agencies.

If Australian police arrest an offender or uncover child abuse material involving Filipino children, the task force picks up the trail in the Philippines.

The task force office seems oppressively small for the sheer volume of crimes it is dealing with.

"I think there's a lot more of this crime type happening than we receive referrals about," said Detective Natalie Roesler, one of three Australian Federal Police members on the task force.

"It certainly is just the tip of the iceberg."

Her navy-blue polo shirt sports the Australian and Philippines flags crossed like swords on the sleeve.

"As much as we work together, the reports don't go down," she said.

(continued)

>>18438457

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Before moving to Manila in 2021, Detective Roesler spent a decade working on child sexual abuse cases in Australia and was once named AFP Detective of the Year for her role in bringing down one of the world's worst paedophiles, known as "Waka".

She's exposed to some of the most disturbing and degrading child sexual abuse imaginable.

"There are tough days," Detective Roesler said. "But really, when you think about what the children have been through compared to what we are going through, that keeps you sort of grounded.

"There's a huge sense of urgency because every day children are being abused."

At 7am on a Friday, a flurry of activity swept through the office as investigators assembled to prepare an urgent search warrant application.

At one end of the room, a photograph of a seven-year-old girl, Jolene*, was projected on the wall, her big brown eyes staring expressionless past the camera.

For months, police had been analysing videos of a girl being sexually abused.

They now believed it was Jolene in the videos and that her mother's boyfriend had been the one creating and selling them.

After a lengthy investigation they had tracked him down to a house in Manila, which they now had under surveillance.

Investigators would have to swoop soon or risk him slipping through their fingers.

"These cases are very sensitive," said Colonel Portia Manalad, a senior officer with the Women's and Children's Protection Centre with the Philippines National Police.

"You need to have some patience because everything can change overnight."

With the application in hand, half a dozen investigators piled into a mini-van and sped down a bumpy Manila highway to get it approved in court.

But the judge had already gone to lunch.

When the judge returned, the investigators filed one by one into the closed courtroom to detail the horrific abuse they had seen in the videos.

Outside, stray cats roamed in and out of the waiting room where the other officers working on the case waited for their chance to speak before the judge.

Some had been working on the case for weeks and had toiled late into the night preparing the application.

They dozed as they waited, or spoke amongst themselves about the most chilling aspects of the case, like a video in which the young girl begged for the abuse to stop.

As the minutes and hours ticked by, all feared what it could mean for Jolene.

Fighting the war

In the slick office tower that houses the Australian embassy in Manila's financial district, Detective Roesler sat down at her computer.

A copy of a Skype chat between another woman in the Philippines and a 68-year-old man named Ian Schapel, a retired public servant living in a unit in Adelaide, flashed up on the screen.

It's one of hundreds of chat logs detailing how Schapel negotiated with women in the Philippines to watch children being sexually exploited and abused on live video calls.

In one chat, the facilitator posted a photo of a child in a singlet and shorts.

"I have seen [her] before," Schapel replied. The facilitator insisted the child was "new".

"Let me watch her get undressed," he wrote back, "give me a show".

"Throughout the chats he's very direct about age and it was found that he would direct the shows and the acts," Detective Roesler said.

"He was very manipulative and demanding about what he wanted and would negotiate prices for what he wanted."

The power imbalance between the facilitator and Schapel is stark.

At one point she asked him to send her money without giving him a "show". He accused her of using "the same sob story".

"It is absolutely brutal," said Detective Roesler. "She will end up begging because she wants him just to send some money without having to have a show because she needs to buy food for her children and medicines."

Police first learned of Schapel's depraved crimes when he was stopped by Border Force at Melbourne Airport after returning from an overseas trip in 2020.

They found child sexual abuse material on his phone and, when they searched his house, uncovered over 50,000 images and videos on various devices, including some horrific footage of sexual acts involving children.

He paid as little as $40 to watch the children being abused and exploited. His youngest victim was just three. Schapel received a jail term of 15 years.

(continued)

>>18438460

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Following his arrest, police in Australia passed the evidence to the task force in Manila. From there, Philippines police were able to track down 15 victims and arrest five facilitators.

Examination of the financial records of one of the alleged facilitators led investigators to a 71-year-old man in Western Australia.

They found he paid nearly half a million dollars to sexually abuse children overseas from his home in Geraldton via the internet. He was jailed for 14 years.

Cases where the crimes are live streamed are particularly challenging for investigators.

"Other material that's been pre-recorded and is in possession of offenders, it's easier because they might have that saved on a device," said Detective Roesler.

"But the crime is happening in real time. To go and get that evidence, unless it's been recorded by either party, is quite difficult."

While much of what the police do to catch offenders are "trade secrets", a large part of the AFP's work is monitoring the dark web, keeping track of high-risk and repeat travellers, and looking at suspect financial transactions.

"There's always a trace," she said.

A midnight raid

It was 7pm at the Manila court when the judge granted the search warrant.

The officers left the court for a police station near the suspect's house to rendezvous with the rest of the team set to accompany them on the raid.

There were plain-clothes police and a social worker present, ready to whisk Jolene away to safety.

But rarely are these cases that simple. While many victims are grateful to be found, for others it is more complex.

"Rescue operations are often distressful, especially for very young survivors who may not understand right away why they are being separated from their parents or family members," said Jessa Lazarte, a social worker with the International Justice Mission, who is often first on the scene when children are found.

"The live streaming of child abuse and the online sexual exploitation have been normalised at their home. Because it's the people that they trust, the victims suffer complex trauma."

Often, social welfare authorities determine that non-offending family members are not willing or able to look after the survivors properly.

Many spend the rest of their childhoods in shelters or foster homes, saddled with the complex emotional fallout from being abused by their own parents.

"It's normal that they won't easily trust us," Jessa said. "So it's important that we don't give up on them."

At 10pm, officers gathered for a pre-raid briefing. The suspect had been spotted in the house.

The alley next to the house was so narrow they couldn't get a car down to secure the area in advance, so they would send two cars to the closest entry point and race to the front door.

By the time the cars arrived at the location, it was nearly midnight.

Suddenly, police piled into the street. Neighbours peeked out of their windows.

Investigators stormed the house and found the suspect inside, shirtless.

Detective Roesler stood to the side of the room, quiet and focused, watching as Philippines police retrieved phones and computer hard drives.

It was leads from Australian and Dutch police that led investigators to this point.

The suspect was arrested and charged with multiple crimes. Police allege they found child abuse material on his phone.

"It's disgusting, I can't explain thoroughly," said Lieutenant Colonel Rahul Bolido, of the Philippine National Police, after the raid.

But Jolene was nowhere to be found.

Somewhere in this sprawling city, she is likely with her mother, police believe, who is also suspected of participating in her abuse.

(continued)

>>18438464

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'It's easy money'

Back in the Manila detention centre, Marie pondered her future and her past.

Before police stormed her home, she had been messaging on her phone with what she thought was an overseas man willing to pay for an online sex show of her children.

It was in fact an undercover police officer. As soon as police saw in the video chat the "show" was about to start, they entered the house.

"I'm paying [for] what I did," she said. "That's why I'm here."

But still she tried to justify her actions.

She told me when she lost her job at the start of the pandemic, a friend told her she could make money selling abuse and exploitation videos of her children to foreigners.

She claimed the decision was "painful, not easy".

"I just ate my pride rather than see my kid sleep with an empty stomach," she said.

She said she was the main breadwinner and responsible for supporting not only her kids but also her extended family.

She claimed she only made the children do "shows" towards the end of each month if she didn't have enough money for rent and wasn't doing it for very long.

But in their statements to police, one of the children said they had done so many "shows" in the last three years they had lost count.

According to Cathy Nolasco, head of the National Bureau of Investigation team that arrested Marie, poverty is a driving factor in these times.

"If we go through to the places where we actually conduct these operations, the places are usually, or most often than not, poverty stricken," Ms Nolasco said.

But when the facilitators tell her they had no other choice, she doesn't buy it.

"It's easy money," she said. "We all have options … they should be the one providing for the needs of the children, not the other way around."

Marie is facing life in prison, but even from inside this cage she still hopes for a chance at a different future, one with her kids.

"To [be] normal, forget everything and have a real job as well," she said.

Marie's children are in the care of the Department of Social Welfare. She has no idea where they are and can't contact them.

"If I can just [go] back in time, I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't," she said. "No-one [is] going to regret it first, always at the end. I know people going to hate me. I'm just human. I'm not perfect."

As our time drew to an end, I said to Marie that I found it difficult, as a mother, to understand how she could do this to her children.

"Maybe because we are not the same," she replied. "That's why you do not understand. What we've been through to stay alive. Maybe when you in my situation, we're the same. For sure, you are going to understand me."

At the task force office, investigators are still looking for seven-year-old Jolene.

They have been scouring the suspect's data and financial records to see if they can identify any other foreign offenders who could lead to more arrests.

"The really hard thing is that you leave work every day, you go to bed every night knowing there are still more children out there that you know about," said task force policing expert Caleb Carroll.

"And it's heartbreaking because they may not know that anybody's even out there looking for them, even though we're trying."

*Name has been changed to protect the child's identity.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-02/foreign-correspondent-philippines-children/102028918

Disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris sued over alleged sexual abuse of 10-year-old girl

Olivia Ireland - March 2, 2023

A woman is suing disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris for an alleged molestation in 1982 when she was a 10-year-old foster child.

Harris, 92, is one of three defendants being sued by the woman alongside the State of Victoria and foster care provider OzChild.

In July 2014, up to 40 women alleged they were assaulted by the Australian performer.

He was later sentenced to five years and nine months in prison on 12 counts of indecent assault to four women during the 1970s and 1980s. He was released on licence in 2017.

In a statement of claim seen by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Maurice Blackburn lawyers representing the former foster care child wrote that Harris was allegedly performing at Camp Manyung, where the woman is said to have met the entertainer.

The woman alleged when she was at the camp, she was sitting on a bench while Harris was helping her remove wax from her clothing.

She then claimed Harris lifted her skirt up at the back and placed his hands up her leg and sexually assaulted her.

“The plaintiff tried to call out and scream and she then ran away. The plaintiff told a staff member at the camp about the abuse but Rolf Harris called the plaintiff a liar,” the statement said.

Harris then allegedly left the camp.

The woman will also be making a string of separate allegations of abuse while under the care of the State of Victoria and OzChild.

Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer John Rule will be representing the woman and says the intentional tort will claim damages for battery against Harris, which caused her permanent psychiatric harm.

“Her allegations have always been entirely consistent since I first spoke to her two years ago and through our investigations we’ve been able to corroborate Harris was in Australia at the same time and in Victoria … he performed at the [Victorian Football League] grand final,” he said.

“He has been convicted in the UK of abusing other young girls and in quite similar circumstances [to my client].”

Rule said he was still waiting for confirmation that Harris had been served as the former entertainer lives in the UK.

They expect a trial date to be in early 2024.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/disgraced-entertainer-rolf-harris-sued-over-alleged-sexual-abuse-of-10-year-old-girl-20230302-p5cp1g.html

>>18438482

Rolf Harris to fight claim he molested a 10-year-old girl

The disgraced Aussie entertainer has vowed to “fight with every inch” new sex attack claims, after already serving a jail sentence for separate assaults.

Danielle Gusmaroli - March 3, 2023

Disgraced paedophile Rolf Harris will “fight with every inch” fresh claims he molested an Australian girl in the 80s.

The once-celebrated entertainer, who was jailed for three years in Britain for assaulting four teenage girls between 1968 and 1986, is accused of a sex attack on a 10-year-old ward of the state at a camp in Melbourne where Harris was to perform for two nights.

Harris, 93, who can barely speak and is fed through a tube, was stunned at the allegations when News Corp confronted him at his home in Berkshire, England.

His lawyer Daniel Berke followed up with a statement on his behalf.

“It is noted that the complainant did not come forward when other allegations were tested in Court, at a time when our client was in better health,” the statement read.

“Rather she has waited until our client is 93 years of age and has made this allegation following news reports of his poor and rapidly declining health, in the knowledge that he is unable to properly defend himself.

“Mr Harris maintains that the allegation is mendacious.

“Any claim will be robustly defended and Mr Harris will seek full costs against any person bringing a false claim.”

In legal documents, filed by no fee firm Maurice Blackburn, the accuser “Jill”, now 51, alleges Harris sat down next to her after performing at the out-of-school camp at Camp Manyung in Mount Eliza.

Jill alleges he offered to help remove wax she had spilt on her dress.

Harris “started off helpful” and was humming or singing before it is alleged he used a “hug-lift” to pull her onto him.

She then claims he sexually assaulted her.

“I remember feeling petrified, terrified and panicked,” she said.

The woman says she recalls that she “screamed” after the contact and there was a confrontation between the woman she met at the camp and a woman who had organised the event.

She recalls the woman asking her: “Are you going to get any sleep tonight because I’m not going to if he stays.”

The girl then alleges that Harris marched towards her and called her a “lying brat” and stormed off.

Lawyer John Rule of Maurice Blackburn said of Harris: “We know this is a pattern of behaviour. It’s a real arrogance in his offending.”

Private investigator William Merritt who authored a book The Truth Behind the Trials about the assault trials which was favourable to Harris, said the entertainer had had enough.

“(He) says ‘enough’s enough,’ the man is sick and had to be lifted out of bed and into a chair to be told the news and is shocked about it,” Mr Merritt said.

“He can hardly talk and even though he’s ill he says he will fight with every inch.”

Attacks committed by Harris were traced back as far as the 1960s and he was sent to HM Prison Stafford almost five decades later, in 2014, convicted of 12 indecent assaults on four girls.

One of those convictions was overturned later on appeal.

The former British national treasure has previously insisted he was the victim of his own naivety and of women driven to cash in on up to £200,000 ($A350,000) as part of the criminal injuries compensation culture of the early 2000s which brought down entertainers Jimmy Saville and Gary Glitter.

He was released on parole in May 2017 after spending three years in jail.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/rolf-harris-to-fight-claim-he-molested-a-10yearold-girl/news-story/31be7136a3e7de1fb016b3ee478945fb

>>18432749

Catholic Archbishop invites The Project panelists to Sunday service to better understand impact on Christians of guest's offensive joke about Jesus

KYLIE STEVENS - 3 March 2023

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One of Australia's leading Catholic figures has invited panelists and staff from The Project to attend his church to 'better understand' Christian beliefs in the wake of a lewd Jesus joke that made it to air.

Backlash against the prime-time Channel 10 program is growing after queer comedian Reuben Kaye made an X-rated joke about the crucifixion of Jesus when he appeared as a guest on Tuesday night.

He spoke about the hate he receives from members of the public - and Christians in particular - for being gay and wearing drag, and then joked: 'I love Jesus. I love any man who can get nailed for three days straight and come back for more!'

The shocking gag prompted laughter from several panelists, including host Sarah Harris.

She and co-host Waleed Aly issued a grovelling apology the next night, which has done little to quell growing calls for the program to be cancelled.

Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher has expressed deep disappointment about the 'inappropriate' ridiculing of Christian beliefs and wrote to Channel 10 owners Paramount ANZ.

'Many us are saddened and bewildered at the shocking comments about the crucifixion of Jesus which aired on The Project earlier this week,' he told parishioners on Friday.

'It's incredible that a mainstream television program would mock the beliefs of more than half of all Australians.

'In this season of Lent, let us continue to do penances for these all too common acts of blasphemy, and pray that the eyes of the ignorant will be opened to the life that Christ offers us.'

Archbishop Fisher also shared a copy of the scathing letter he sent inviting Paramount ANZ executives, staff and and panelists from The Project to attend his Easter services at Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral next month.

'During prime-time, the guest used the crucifixion of Jesus as a source of ridicule and derision. Presented as a 'joke', the crude remark was of a sexual nature and highly inappropriate,' Archbishop Fisher wrote.

'Worryingly, the insult not only went unchallenged, but was even endorsed with spirited laughter by members of the panel.

'That a 'news and current affairs' program would so flagrantly mock the beliefs of more than half of all Australians is extremely upsetting and frankly incredible.'

(continued)

>>18438530

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He added the hosts' follow-up apology came across as 'forced and insincere'.

'One gets the impression that the panellists are either unaware or indifferent to the hurt they have caused not only to Christians but people of faith throughout the nation,' Archbishop Fisher wrote.

'Moreover, the apology was not posted on The Project Facebook page yet the video clip containing the offensive remarks is still available for viewing.'

'It is clear to anyone who watched the Project on Tuesday night that those who hold traditional Christian beliefs are treated with such contempt by many within the media.'

Archbishop Fisher ended the letter inviting staff from the network and the program to attend the Good Friday or Easter Sunday service to 'fully experience the reverence Christians have for Jesus Christ'.

'Perhaps members of The Project have little understanding of the Easter season and why attacks on one of the most sacred symbols of our faith is so offensive,' he added.

The Lebanese Muslim Association also condemned the program.

'We call upon everyone, and in particular, public figures like Reuben Kaye who left Network Ten The Project producers red faced, to respect and display tolerance towards one another, regardless of their religious beliefs,' the organisation wrote.

'As civilised society, we call upon the Australian government to enshrine the sanctity of religion from such derogatory and blasphemous statements that serve only to denigrate people's faith, beliefs and principles.'

Muslim activists have also organised a protest to be held at Sydney's Hyde Park on March 18.

Almost 20,000 Australians have also signed a change.org petition lobbying for The Project to be axed.

The backlash from Muslims and Christians over the controversial segment was swift and brutal prompting Aly and Harris to issue an apology for the segment the following night.

'During an interview last night our guest told a joke which we know was deeply and needlessly offensive to many of you,' a remorseful Aly said.

'We want to acknowledge the particular offence that caused our Muslim viewers but especially our Christian viewers.

'Obviously I understand just how profound that offence was.'

Harris, who burst out laughing after the joke, also joined the grovelling apology.

'Live TV is unpredictable and when this happened in the last few moments of last night's show, it took us all by surprise, there wasn't a lot of time to react in any sort of considered way,' she said.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11814875/Sydney-Archbishop-Anthony-Fisher-deeply-disappointed-Projects-lewd-Jesus-joke.html

https://www.facebook.com/anthonyfisherop/posts/739533260876482

https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2023/03/archbishop-condemns-channel-ten-waleed-aly-and-the-gang.html

Katherine Deves in feminist fightback against Queensland name-your-gender laws

FIA WALSH - MARCH 3, 2023

A radical feminist group operating under the banner of International Women’s Day will host a conference and rally on Saturday in protest against Queensland’s moves to allow gender self-identification on birth certificates.

Former Liberal candidate Katherine Deves, who campaigned against transgender athletes in last year’s federal election, is among speakers at the conference organised by IWD Brisbane Meanjin, a self-described “left-wing women’s liberation organisation”.

The Palaszczuk government’s bill, which the legal affairs and safety committee last week recommended be passed, will allow trans and gender-diverse people to change the sex on their birth certificate without undergoing sexual reassignment surgery.

The committee referred to submissions from groups including the Queensland Human Rights Commission, Just. Equal and Amnesty International, which argued the move would uphold human rights, reduce discrimination and improve the wellbeing of gender-diverse communities.

But IWD Brisbane Meanjin has accused the government of ­ignoring calls from feminists ­opposed to “gender ideology”.

Sall Grover, head of women’s-only app Giggle and chair of Saturday’s rally, described the bill as “a predator’s dream”.

“Men saying they’re women does take away rights that are specifically put aside for women for really, really valid reasons – whether it’s for safety, privacy or dignity, women need to have our own spaces,” Ms Grover said.

IWD Brisbane Meanjin’s conference, running over Friday, Saturday and Sunday, features 20 speakers including Ms Deves, whose talk is titled Feminism, the media and hands across the aisle.

Also on the docket is feminist academic Sheila Jeffreys, University of Melbourne associate professor of political philosophy Holly Lawford-Smith and women’s rights campaigner Anna McCormack.

Ms McCormack began IWD Brisbane Meanjin in 2017 after being asked to talk at another International Women’s Day rally and seeing trans-women had also been given a platform to speak.

“I realised feminists need to take this back,” she said.

Her group represents the position of TERFs – trans-exclusion­ary radical feminists – a generally derogative label most notably thrown at author J.K Rowling.

Ms McCormack expected up to 40 people to attend Saturday’s protest in Brisbane’s city.

Just. Equal spokeswoman Sally Goldner rejected concerns about women’s safety as a case of “crying wolf once too often”. “Years of laws protecting trans and gender-diverse people, both in Australia and beyond, have shown no evidence of cisgender men fraudulently attempting to gain access to specific areas,” she said.

“Predator and paedophile ­arguments come from the same fearmongering that was levelled against gay men years ago and such ideas are overwhelmingly baseless.”

The same argument was taken by the parliamentary committee, which accepted there was “nothing to suggest a systemic risk to girls and women” from men identifying as women.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/katherine-deves-in-feminist-fightback-against-queensland-nameyourgender-laws/news-story/32bbf7db46488f63f9b7258110883be8

Nigel Farage slams Australia a ‘wokest place in the world’ in US speech

ADAM CREIGHTON - MARCH 4, 2023

UK Brexit leader Nigel Farage has slammed Australia as the “wokest place on Earth” in a fiery speech in the US that blamed big tech for spreading “poison” through English speaking nations.

Mr Farage stole the show on the second day of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, which included speeches – drawing significantly less applause – from former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley.

Former president Donald Trump will give the final address to the CPAC conference, for years a bastion of Mr Trump’s political support, on Saturday (Sunday AEDT).

“Governments, state governments in America, took away from us liberties and freedoms that had been fought for generations and centuries, we gave unlimited power to people to lock us inside our houses, tell us we couldn’t visit elderly relatives, in our case [the UK] couldn’t even play golf or go fishing,” Mr Farage said.

“This is what tyranny looks like,” he added, admitting he had broken numerous lockdown rules in the UK, including illegally visiting his parents and friends.

“Go to Australia, which has now become one of the wokest places on earth,” he bemoaned, dwelling on what he said was a rare “bit of good news” in the Antipodes: the resignation of Jacinda Ardern.

The GB news host and political campaigner, who shot to fame ahead of the UK’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union, contrasted the decline of conservative movements in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, with their rise in Europe.

“In Europe, conservatives are making real progress, in France, in Spain, and huge progress in Italy – I’m not ashamed to say that Georgia Meloni is my new pin up,” he said, referring to the new Prime Minister of Italy.

“When laws become enemies of men, men become enemies of laws … if any government ever tries to take away my liberties again like that I’ll be rebel from day 1 and I suggest you join me,” he added.

Mr Farage blamed the relative failure of conservatism in the English speaking world on “the west coast” of the US and “Big tech” in particular, which had spread “poison through our political systems”.

“I hope Elon Musk’s taking over Twitter starts to redress some of this balance, but these are depressing times”.

Ms Haley, former South Carolina governor, Mr Trump’s former Ambassador to the United Nations and the second Republican so far after Mr Trump to formally declare a 2024 presidential bid, hewed to a similar theme of the conference, decrying the “woke self-loathing that has swept” the US.

“It‘s in the classroom, the board room and in the back rooms of government; we’re taught our country is flawed and full of hate … wokeness is a virus more dangerous than any pandemic hands down,” she said.

In his remarks Mr Pompeo, who is considered a long shot at the White House, took a swipe at the Trump administration in his bid to win over the predominantly Trump-supporting audience.

“Every recent administration, Republican and Democrat alike has added trillions of dollars to our debt. That is deeply unconservative. [The] Trump administration, the administration I served, added $8 trillion in new debt,” he said, describing the trend as “indecent”.

He also made a veiled criticism of Mr Trump’s influence on last year’s midterm elections, where Republicans, especially those endorsed strongly by Mr Trump, did worse than expected, failing to win control of the senate.

“We lost race after winnable race, because voters didn‘t trust us to do any better than the tax and spend liberals”.

Turnout at the high profile Republican political jamboree has been less than expected, according to attendees, and failed to attract other high profile Republicans stars such as Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, both expected to make their own bids for the White House.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/nigel-farage-slams-australia-a-wokest-place-in-the-world-in-us-speech/news-story/45beb4166d0e7997ca9d4458cc7d5327

>>18444173

Nikki Haley heckled as Trump movement dominates Conservatives conference

Farrah Tomazin - March 4, 2023

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National Harbour, Maryland: The conference room was half empty. The speakers were fuelled by longstanding grievances. And in corridors filled with Donald Trump merchandise and American flags, a proxy battle over the future of the Republican Party was playing out in real time.

Once regarded as a premier event on the Republican calendar, the Conservative Political Action Conference has traditionally been a good barometer of the party’s base and a presidential testing ground for would-be candidates to raise their profiles.

But this year, some of Trump’s biggest rivals - such as Florida governor Ron DeSantis and former vice president Mike Pence - decided to skip the three-day summit, highlighting the deepening divisions within the GOP over its ties to the former president.

Others, such as Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, showed up to make their pitch, only to be heckled with chants of “We Love Trump” as she obliged supporters who asked for selfies and autographs after her speech.

Trump will headline CPAC on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) at the Gaylord National Convention Centre in Maryland, just outside Washington DC, in what will be one of his biggest public addresses since he announced his campaign for the 2024 presidential nomination in November.

“I can’t wait to see him,” said Paul Colecornwell, who travelled from Texas with family and friends, all of who were wearing yellow t-shirts with red letters spelling out Trump’s name.

“I just really like his ambition. He’s not scared of what he says - he’s just here to get things done.”

But while CPAC has long been the Trump show, low crowd numbers or a poor result at Saturday’s annual straw poll - which asks attendees who they want as their next president - will fuel suggestions that his influence within the party is waning.

At last year’s CPAC in Florida, Trump beat DeSantis in the poll with 59 per cent of the vote to 28 per cent, and slightly widened the gap at CPAC in Texas last August, 64 to 24 per cent. A significant drop in support would be yet another blow to the former president in his campaign for re-election.

Posing for selfies with fans outside the main stage, Trump’s son, Don Jnr, seemed to be aware of what was at stake.

“Make sure you vote in the straw poll tomorrow,” he told a group of women wearing Trump’s trademark red MAGA caps.

Asked by The Sydney Morning and The Age if he was confident his father could clinch the Republican nomination, Trump Jnr replied: “I’m pretty confident” before taking a veiled swipe at DeSantis, who was at a donor event in Florida, run by conservative anti-tax Club For Growth.

“You can look around here and see people are pretty engaged,” he said. “They understand there’s only one guy who doesn’t need the corporate money and the establishment money. And the person who doesn’t need that money is the only person who is not ultimately beholden to those (donors) and can actually work for the people - and that’s what matters.”

CPAC was once a platform for conservatives to discuss serious issues such as taxes or economic policy. Every year, thousands of conservatives would attend the event, paying between $US300 ($443) to $US3000 ($4430) for a ticket, which allowed them to rub shoulders with the who’s who of the Republican Party.

But these days, it feels like more of a fringe festival of Trump loyalists and ultra conservatives, many of whom espouse his nationalist views and the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen.

UK Brexit leader Nigel Farage - a regular on the CPAC circuit - used his speech to describe Australia as “one of the wokest places on earth” and applauded the resignation of New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern as “a bit of good news” for the region.

(continued)

>>18444210

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Far-right Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene called for the US to stop funding weapons to Ukraine and accused transgender activists of targeting children.

Donald Trump Jnr mocked Democratic Senator John Fetterman - who suffered a stroke and was admitted to hospital with depression - by calling him a “vegetable”.

And MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell, an election denier, called for the US to get rid of electronic voting machines before the nation ended up “being a Venezuela, a Brazil, or Australia.”

“They’ll take our country with computers!” he told reporters as he walked around the convention centre on Friday morning.

Nonetheless, Trump’s hold on the base of the party is undeniable, which will prompt widespread scrutiny on Saturday as he takes to the stage.

Research released last month by conservative pollster Whit Ayres found 28 per cent of the party’s primary voters were still so loyal to Trump that they would back him even if he ran for the White House against Republican and Democratic nominees.

And yet, among the party’s establishment, Trump is a significantly diminished figure after many of his midterm election candidates failed to win seats in November, resulting in the former president being blamed for the expected Republican “red wave” failing to materialise.

Trump’s former secretary of state Mike Pompeo - who is also considering running for the presidential nomination - highlighted the party’s lacklustre result during his speech, telling the crowd: “We lost race after winnable race. It’s because voters didn’t trust us to do any better than the tax-and-spend liberals.”

Haley, Trump’s former UN ambassador, also lamented the result, as she called for generational change and cognitive tests for presidents and politicians over 75 years of age. That would include Trump, who is 76, and Joe Biden, who is 80.

“If you’re tired of losing, put your trust in a new generation,” the 51-year-old former governor said to lukewarm applause. “And if you want to win — not just as a party, but as a country — then stand with me.”

The Republicans’ poor showing at the US midterms did not appear to faze the crowds who turned up on Friday (US time) to listen to speeches, rub shoulders with their conservative heroes or attend seminars with titles such as “Taking on the Swamp”; “Open Borders Kill” and “The Biden Crime Family”.

Nor did the fact that there were notable absences, including potential presidential aspirants such as South Dakota governor Kristi Noem and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. As for Trump’s biggest rival, Ron DeSantis?

“He’s a great governor, but I’m not sure he’s ready to be president,” said Florida resident Bill Duffy. “I’ve loved Donald Trump since he ran in 2016, I believe he’s still our leader - and I think he can win.”

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/nikki-haley-heckled-as-trump-movement-dominates-conservatives-conference-20230304-p5cpe3.html

>>18427819

Indigenous voice risks perpetuating a long history of failure

JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE - MARCH 4, 2023

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In Noel Pearson’s recent article in The Weekend Australian, “Conservatives eat their own words on voice” (25-26/2), he argues the concept was born from constitutional conservatives who he now describes as characteristically “fickle”.

The concept may have begun in 2014 as a collaboration between constitutional conservatives and Indigenous leaders but with the help of a senior adviser on the voice committee, Marcia Langton, it has morphed into an entity she argues should compel government to listen to it, otherwise it would be a “toothless tiger”.

Contrary to Anthony Albanese’s suggestion that it wouldn’t have the power to challenge government in the High Court, Langton is adamant that is exactly what it should be able to do. No constitutional conservative in their right mind could now support such a concept.

Pearson might find it cathartic to attack conservatives he claims once backed the concept of the voice, but his comments fail to argue what he perceives to be the merits of this gargantuan race-based constitutional change.

He once supported my fight to maintain the cashless debit card for vulnerable Australians – now abolished by the government he supports on the voice. He has since publicly denigrated my opposition to the voice.

At least the conservatives he has expressed disappointment in provide a sound argument to the dangers of the Yes vote; as opposed to making personal attacks.

Contrary to the argument by voice proponents that Aboriginal Australia has been “voiceless” and needs an overarching entity to hold parliament and executive government to account, Pearson himself is among those who have had a seat at the table for decades.

He has been a key player in the Indigenous policy space since the early 1990s. Through the establishment of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership during 2011 to 2016 alone his efforts have attracted more than $47m in government funding for the design and implementation programs to advance communities.

Pearson has had the ear of many prime ministers of both Labor and Coalition governments over the decades. His has been a prominent voice to parliament, despite never taking the opportunity to run for a seat himself.

Another proponent of the voice, Pat Turner, who is currently the head of the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations – a body many would consider is a voice to parliament – has also in her own words, “held senior leadership positions in government, business and academia for more than 40 years, and had extensive experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs”.

In fact, over those decades her roles included deputy secretary of the Department for Aboriginal Affairs, deputy secretary for Prime Minister and Cabinet which oversaw the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation; chief executive of the now dismantled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission for four years, senior managerial positions in Centrelink and the Department of Health, and chief executive of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations body since 2016. As head of NACCHO, Turner has been responsible for the delivery of services to the tune of more than $27m in grants funding.

In more recent times, Turner’s influence on federal parliament has ensured a redesigned Closing the Gap process. During the 2023 anniversary of the apology, she presented a fresh set of plans. Addressing the entire senior executive of the Albanese government she exclaimed, “we know that outcomes for our people can be much better when central agencies are playing a leadership role”. With her influence, Turner has convinced the Albanese government to increase investment toward Closing the Gap by $242m.

She has been a vocal advocate for more financial investment into Aboriginal disadvantage despite the more than $30bn investment made year in, year out, regardless of who’s in power.

In a recent interview with ABC’s 7.30 Turner argued that governments fail to invest and that a voice to parliament would, “keep on saying what we’ve been saying for decades, ever since we’ve all been involved because of the lack of investment by governments”.

(continued)

>>18444244

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Turner goes on to say that, “having a voice won’t stop the need for the investment by governments in programs – governments still have to do that”. In other words, the voice is not a new approach to solving disadvantage but simply the current framework of voices that exist in various different “central agencies”, corporations, advisory committees, land councils – and so on – that will be embedded within our Constitution.

These are examples of merely two influential voices to parliament, but there are many more. Within parliament itself, four very senior Aboriginal parliamentarians – minister Linda Burney, senator Malarndirri McCarthy, senator Patrick Dodson and member for Lingiari Marion Scrymgour – now argue a constitutional amendment is the answer to Closing the Gap.

What does it tell us that these four members of parliament who have 65 years of collective experience within state, territory and federal parliaments both in opposition and in government as Indigenous Australians now argue a voice to parliament is the only answer?

If we want to make a difference in the lives of our most marginalised, we have to begin by putting a stop to treating Aboriginal Australians differently.

The structures that have existed and failed, despite the billions of dollars of investment, are systems that have been built on the ideological premise that Aboriginal Australians are to be treated differently and separately and are inherently disadvantaged as a result of racial heritage.

The abovementioned powerful voices are clear evidence that any human who can gain an education can take advantage of what our nation has to offer and this is not a determination of race. None of these leaders required a voice to parliament to succeed.

In 2016 the Centre for Independent Studies uncovered that of 1082 Indigenous-specific programs identified in a review of government and non-government programs, only 88 (8 per cent) had been evaluated. And of those programs that were evaluated, few used methods that actually provided evidence of the program’s effectiveness.

On the whole, Indigenous evaluations are characterised by a lack of data and an over-reliance on anecdotal evidence.

I will continue to argue that we need to forensically audit the current systems that have been funded to “close the gap” to determine the successes and discard the failures. As long as an industry exists to “close the gap”, the gap will not close.

Constitutionally enshrining the very voices that exist within the structures that perpetuate the ideological notion that Aboriginal Australians are inherently disadvantaged, is constitutionally enshrining failure.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is a Country Liberal Party senator for the Northern Territory.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/indigenous-voice-risks-perpetuating-a-long-history-of-failure/news-story/fcb5ed9afa39ea5b5a825e9e4802f70d

>>18444173

‘I am your warrior’: Fiery Trump promises to end wars, pay baby bonus

Farrah Tomazin - March 5, 2023

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National Harbour, Maryland: Donald Trump has ramped up his 2024 presidential bid with a fiery speech in which he attacked his own party, pledged to stop funding endless wars and vowed to give out baby bonuses to kick off a reproductive boom in America.

Three months after announcing his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, Trump appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference to make his pitch amid deepening divisions among conservatives, questions over his ongoing influence and a spectacular fallout with media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

In an address lasting more than 100 minutes, the former president returned to a central theme of his 2016 election campaign: characterising himself as an outsider fighting for ordinary Americans, who could not be “bought” nor “controlled”.

“There’s only one president in history who has ever taken on the entire corrupt establishment in Washington. And when we win in 2024, we will do it again, even stronger, faster and better,” he said as his adoring audience chanted: “Trump, Trump, Trump”.

“In 2016, I declared: I am your voice. Today I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution.”

Trump took to the stage shortly after winning the annual conference straw poll – in it conference attendees vote for whom they want as president. At the last CPAC in August, Trump won the poll with 69 per cent of the vote, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 24 per cent. This time, based on more than 2000 respondents, he was down slightly but still dominated: with 62 per cent to DeSantis’ 20 per cent.

Republican businessman Perry Johnson, who announced his candidacy for nomination to a group of supporters on Thursday night, came third in the poll, with 5 per cent of the vote, followed by former UN ambassador-turned-presidential hopeful Nikki Haley with 3 per cent.

While the poll is unscientific, a poor result would have been viewed through the prism of Trump’s waning influence over the GOP.

CPAC, after all, has traditionally been a gut-check of the party’s base and a presidential testing ground for wannabe candidates to raise their profiles.

But this year, crowd numbers were lower, with multiple back rows empty during Trump’s speech. The party’s biggest potential contenders – such as DeSantis and former vice-president Mike Pence – decided to skip the three-day event, highlighting the widening chasm within the party following last year’s midterm elections.

Others like Haley showed up to make her pitch, telling her lukewarm audience: “If you’re tired of losing, put your trust in a new generation.”

This particular audience, however, was almost entirely here for Trump. While most of the attendees who spoke to The Age and Sydney Morning Herald didn’t mind DeSantis, they wanted the former president back in the White House next year.

“Our economy was at its best with him, other countries were afraid of him, he had respect for the military, and he had respect for the average Joe,” said Long Island resident Brenda Alvarez, who was wearing a T-shirt saying “I have PTSD: Pretty Tired of Stupid Democrats”.

“He’s just overall the best thing for our country at the moment.”

(continued)

>>18449342

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Trump used his speech to talk up his record and promise everything from term limits for members of Congress to “stopping the slide into costly never-ending wars”, which is consistent with the push among his base to stop funding weapons to Ukraine.

He also spruiked a radical plan to build “freedom cities” out of unused US land and give baby bonuses to parents to kickstart a new baby boom.

And in a sign of what is to come, Trump widened his attack on his own party, taking aim at multiple Republicans, including “China-loving politician” Mitch McConnell (whose wife is Asian); former speaker Paul Ryan (who now sits on the board of Fox News) and so-called RINOs (Republican In Name Only).

“When we started this journey… we had a Republican Party that was ruled by freaks, neocons, globalists, open border zealots, and fools,” he said.

Trump did not directly attack DeSantis – who spent the weekend networking with donors and promoting his new book – but doubled down on his support for Medicare and Social Security after previously singling out DeSantis as “the man who wants to cut Social Security and Medicare”.

“We are never going back to the people that want to destroy our great social security system … even some in our own party, I wonder who that might be,” he quipped.

In another veiled reference to his potential rivals, he also said: “At the end of the day, anyone else will be intimidated, bought off, blackmailed or ripped to shreds.”

Trump’s speech took place in the context of a high-profile fallout with Murdoch, the owner of Fox News. Last week, in a $US1.6 billion ($2.4 billion) lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox and its parent company, Murdoch revealed that network presenters had “endorsed” Trump’s lies of a stolen election, and that company executives could have intervened to prevent those lies from being aired.

Trump was furious, launching a social media tirade doubling down on his election lies and accusing the media mogul of “throwing his anchors under a table”.

Outrage towards Murdoch also spilled out during other speeches. Earlier in the conference, Steve Bannon, a former top adviser to Trump, branded the Australian-born Murdoch and his family “a bunch of foreigners” and cast them as enemies of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.

“Murdoch, you’ve deemed Trump’s not going to be president,” Bannon added. “Well, we’ve deemed that you’re not going to have a network. Because we’re going to fight you every step of the way.“

Trump did not mention Murdoch directly, but addressed the network.

“I hope Fox doesn’t turn off, but we did much better in 2020 than we did in 2016,” he said. He later added that, if elected, he would seek to eliminate early voting and get rid of electronic voting machines in favour of paper ballots.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/fiery-trump-promises-to-end-wars-and-pay-baby-bonus-at-cpac-20230305-p5cpgd.html

$100m blowout hits Australia’s new embassy in Washington DC

Taxpayers have had to cough up an extra $100m for Australia’s new home in Washington DC, which will boast views of the White House when it opens this year.

Tom Minear - March 5, 2023

EXCLUSIVE

The cost of building Australia’s new embassy in Washington DC has blown out by a massive $100m, with the final price-tag more than 40 per cent higher than taxpayers were promised.

The seven-year project to build the new embassy – which US ambassador Arthur Sinodinos says “embodies the spirit of Australia” – will be completed this year.

But the original $236.9m bill has skyrocketed to at least $337m because of construction cost overruns, supply chain problems during the pandemic and the weak Australian dollar.

The new embassy will boast views of the White House from the site of Australia’s original home in Washington, which opened in 1964 on the famous “Embassy Row”.

In the 2015 budget, the federal government unveiled plans to demolish the old embassy, believing it had fallen into a state of disrepair.

Instead of buying a new building elsewhere in the US capital, the government chose to keep the $57m block of land and construct a new purpose-built embassy, while relocating its functions during the works to the nearby National Geographic building.

The Department of Foreign Affairs had expected to spend $5m renting the temporary office space and $9m fitting it out, including to bolster security and install IT systems.

Cost escalations totalling $32m had also been factored into the initial budget.

But DFAT would not provide a new breakdown of the spending as it admitted the blowout.

“The project has progressed well, but has been impacted by Covid-19 through lost productivity and supply chain issues, adverse foreign exchange for the Australian dollar, significant inflation rates and construction cost increases in the United States,” a DFAT spokeswoman said.

In a statement, she said the parliamentary standing committee on public works had been kept informed of the “challenges, delays, and requirement for additional funding for the project”, with the “total forecast cost” now expected to be $337m.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd will take over from Mr Sinodinos as Australia’s ambassador this month and will preside over the grand opening of the new embassy later this year, which some diplomats are hoping will feature Anthony Albanese and Joe Biden.

Bates Smart, the Australian architectural firm which designed the new building, hailed its “direct references to the distinctive Australian landscape: its bright and clear natural light and open skies, its warm materiality and its vast scale”.

“The use of these associations will create a civic building and symbol of Australia that is both enduring and welcoming,” it said.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/100m-blowout-hits-australias-new-embassy-in-washington-dc/news-story/6dd65c04f5ae7165f0208a76206f41e6

Three Sydney United 58 fans charged under new Nazi symbol law

Vince Rugari - March 5, 2023

Three men who attended last year’s controversial Australia Cup final at CommBank Stadium are among the first in the state to be charged under a new law banning the display of Nazi symbols in NSW.

Macarthur FC prevailed 2-0 against Sydney United 58 on October 1, but the clash was marred by anti-social behaviour which prompted Football Australia to issue life bans to two spectators for making Nazi salutes as well as a range of sanctions against United, including a $15,000 fine and several suspended sporting penalties.

The club, which participated in the defunct National Soccer League between 1984 and 2004 and was founded by Croatian immigrants, later apologised for the behaviour of fans, some of whom also booed during the pre-match Welcome to Country.

Crowd footage broadcast by Network 10 showed some Sydney United fans waving flags and banners featuring logos and symbolism closely associated with the Ustashe, a regime which collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II and was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Jews, Serbs and Romani people.

NSW Police have since been investigating allegations of hate crimes committed on the night, including an extensive review of 10’s match coverage and CCTV cameras.

Three men – a 24-year-old from Beverley Park, a 44-year-old from Doonside and a 45-year-old from Wetherill Park – were charged on Friday under the offence of “knowingly display by public act Nazi symbol without excuse”, and will appear before Parramatta Local Court on April 19.

It is believed to be one of the first uses of the new law, which passed NSW parliament in August and was introduced after an inquiry recommended a ban on the public display of Nazi symbols to address rising far-right extremism and antisemitism.

Victoria is the only other state in Australia with a similar law in place, which also permits the use of the swastika in connection with the Buddhist, Hindu and Jain faiths, and other Nazi-related symbols if they are used in “good faith” such as for educational reasons.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Darren Bark said: “We welcome the strong and swift action taken by NSW Police and Football Australia following these vile incidents, and hope these charges serve as a warning to all that displaying a Nazi symbol in NSW is not only abhorrent, it is illegal.”

NSW Police say their investigations into the Australia Cup final are continuing. Separately, Sydney United 58 is also being probed by Football NSW for a recent incident of alleged racist and homophobic abuse by fans against an opposition player.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/three-sydney-united-58-fans-charged-under-new-nazi-symbol-law-20230305-p5cpk9.html

>>18324634 (pb)

WorldPride: Anthony Albanese joins march across Harbour Bridge

SARAH ISON - MARCH 5, 2023

Anthony Albanese was among 50,000 marching across Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of WorldPride.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Penny Wong were greeted with cheers as they arrived at the march.

It follows Mr Albanese being the first prime minister to march as part of Mardi Gras earlier this month.

“No matter who you are, who you love or where you live – you should be valued, equal and celebrated,” he said on Twitter.

“It was incredible to walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge with WorldPride this morning, supporting human rights campaigners from Australia and across the world.”

Sydney Harbour Bridge was a sea of bright colours as the city’s icon shut down for the march.

The event marked the conclusion of 17 days of celebrations, with about 50,000 walking across the bridge, onto the Cahill Expressway and towards the domain, where tens of thousands will gather tonight for a concert.

It was also the first time since 2000 that the bridge was closed for a march, with the last event bringing 250,000 across the bridge for reconciliation with Australia’s first nations people.

Photographs from the Bridge on Sunday show groups dressed in distinctive outfits, many carrying flags or signs, with Mr Albanese and actor Sam Neill among some of the more well known in attendance.

Mr Albanese said the use of the bridge was symbolic, and was equally a celebration of Sydney’s diverse population.

“A bridge symbolises bringing people together. And this is about bringing together the Australian community, celebrating diversity,” he said.

“Also acknowledging that around the world, at WorldPride, that many people still suffer because of who they are, because of their sexuality.

“This is a great global city. And we benefit from the diversity that’s here in this great city. And we’re celebrating that today.”

Actor Sam Neill also took part in the march.

“I’m marching with my friends in solidarity and it’s a great day out,” he told Weekend Today.

“I’m marching against homophobia. There’s still too much of that around.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/worldpride-anthony-albanese-joins-march-across-harbour-bridge/news-story/91b5e0c28156023c58d800fb0586ade9

https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1632137439979663363

>>18427776

Daniel Duggan says he faces ‘gross injustice’ if extradited to US in speech from Sydney prison

The former US marine pilot urges his audience to ‘say no to politically charged extraditions of Australian citizens’

Ben Doherty - 5 Mar 2023

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In a speech from prison, the Australian pilot Daniel Duggan has said he faces a “gross injustice” if extradited to the US and, potentially, a “cruelly long sentence”, warning Australia against acquiescing to the demands of powerful countries.

The address, dictated by Duggan from his prison cell to his legal team, and read on his behalf on Saturday night in Sydney, urged his audience to “say no to Australia being a political lackey to any foreign government, as allies can be dangerous too”.

“Stand and say no to politically charged extraditions of Australian citizens, who surely face gross injustice and cruelly long sentences if approved – setting a dangerous precedent for future generations of Australians,” he said.

Duggan, a former US marine pilot now naturalised Australian, was arrested last October at the request of the US government, which is seeking his extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering, arising from his alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots, more than a decade ago. The allegations have not been tested in court.

Duggan, 54, who has no criminal history anywhere in the world, has been refused bail, and has faced extreme isolation in prison, having been classified as a high-risk prisoner. He denies the charges and is fighting his extradition from prison, a process that could take months, even years, to resolve.

Duggan’s legal team has maintained the US extradition request is an arbitrary and politically motivated prosecution, catalysed by the US’s deepening geopolitical contest with China.

His lawyers have said both the Australian and US governments have been reticent to provide the evidentiary documents Duggan requires in order to be able to properly defend his case.

Duggan’s speech was read at the fifth sitting of the Belmarsh Tribunal, an ad hoc panel of legal experts focused on the case of Australian publisher Julian Assange, named for the maximum security prison where Assange is currently held.

Duggan, the father of six school-aged Australian citizen children, paid tribute to Assange, telling the Belmarsh Tribunal that history was filled with instances “where those in power – from countries considered good and bad – have manipulated and weaponised legal systems to unjustly prosecute those who dare to challenge the politics of the day with inconvenient truths”.

“It takes a certain brave, relentless persistence to push back, and ultimately overcome, such abuses of power.”

(continued)

>>18449420

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Duggan quoted the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, who, speaking in the context of Canberra’s relationship with Beijing, said Australia’s foreign policy disposition must be to “cooperate when we can, disagree where we must”.

“It should not just apply to one country,” Duggan said, “but all countries regardless of who they are.

“So when Australia sovereignty comes into question by politically motivated extradition requests of Australian citizens by any foreign state, regardless of their might, Australia must ‘disagree’.”

The US alleges Duggan trained Chinese fighter pilots to land fighter jets on aircraft carriers, in defiance of arms trafficking laws, and engaged in a conspiracy to launder money.

Duggan served more than a decade flying in the US Marine Corps, rising to the rank of major and working as a military tactical flight instructor.

He left the marines in 2002 and moved to Australia, becoming an Australian citizen on Australia Day 2012 and renouncing his US citizenship.

A 2017 US grand jury indictment, unsealed last December, details payments Duggan allegedly received in 2011 and 2012 for his work training Chinese fighter pilots at a test flight academy “based in South Africa, with a presence in the People’s Republic of China”.

Duggan strenuously rejects the charges against him as being politically motivated, and the indictment against him filled with “half-truths, falsehoods and gross embellishments”.

Despite never having been convicted of a crime in any country, Duggan has been classified as an Extreme High Risk Restricted (EHRR) and Protection Non-Association (PRNA) prisoner. He is currently being held in a two-metre-by-four-metre cell at Silverwater in Sydney’s west.

He refused a move to the notorious “boneyard” at Silverwater, where convicted paedophiles and police informers are held for their protection, and has requested he be moved to Bathurst prison, so he can be closer to his family, who live in Orange. His case returns to court later this month.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/05/daniel-duggan-says-he-faces-gross-injustice-if-extradited-to-us-in-speech-from-sydney-prison

https://twitter.com/FreeDanDuggan/status/1632174916777947138

https://twitter.com/FreeDanDuggan/status/1631977207534096385

https://twitter.com/FreeDanDuggan/status/1632017441726541826

>>18427829

Malka Leifer: Not guilty verdicts on two charges against principal on technicality, court told

LIAM BEATTY - MARCH 6, 2023

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Former Jewish school principal Malka Leifer has been found not guilty on two charges against her due to a technicality in the law, the presiding judge has told the jury.

Malka Leifer, 56, is standing trial in the Victorian County Court on allegations she sexually abused three sisters - Nicole Meyer, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper - between 2003 and 2007.

She had pleaded not guilty to 29 charges, including 10 of rape, maintaining she had “proper and professional” interactions with the girls only.

On Monday afternoon, Judge John Gamble told the jury they would no longer have to reach a verdict on two charges of indecent act with a child aged 16 or 17.

“Those charges relate to a particular charge type that only came into effect on December 1, 2006,” he said.

“In other words there must be evidence capable of establishing beyond reasonable doubt that if those alleged actions occurred, they occur after that date.

“You have heard evidence about the timing that suggest if that offending occurred it likely occurred before that date… So I have directed verdicts of not guilty be entered on the record.”

The court had previously heard the charges related to alleged inappropriate touching and kissing of Elly Sapper in 2006 ahead of a school play being performed at the Phoenix Theatre in December that year.

The offences were introduced as legislation in Victoria from December 1, 2006, and do not apply retrospectively.

Judge Gamble said the prosecution would still rely on the evidence produced about the alleged incident, in an attempt to establish a “pattern of behaviour”.

The trial will continue on the remaining 27 charges.

Also on Monday, prosecutor Justin Lewis told the jury all evidence the prosecution intended to rely on had been put before the court.

In response, Ms Leifer’s barrister Ian Hill KC said the defence will not call any evidence on her behalf.

He has previously told the jury Ms Leifer said his client denied she had done anything wrong and would dispute whether the criminal acts occurred.

“She had a proper and professional interaction with them as students,” he said.

He told the jury they will have to decide whether the women are telling the truth and whether their allegations are “delusions” brought on by trauma from their “apparently abusive home lives”.

(continued)

>>18454163

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Over the past five weeks, the jury has heard allegations Ms Leifer repeatedly created circumstances where she and the girls could be alone at school, on school trips or during “private education” sessions at her Elsternwick home.

Mr Lewis alleged they had no understanding of sex or what Ms Leifer was allegedly doing to them and, at the time, thought of her as a substitute mother figure.

Mr Hill has argued the sisters are unreliable and had changed their recollections multiple times since a complaint was first made to police in 2011.

On Monday, Detective Sergeant Danielle Newton, who led the investigation, was called to give evidence as the final witness of the prosecution.

She told the court she was first contacted about the allegations on May 20, 2011, when one of the sisters contacted St Kilda police station.

Over the following decade she interviewed the three sisters a number of times and contacted multiple people from the Adass Israel community, some of which declined to participate in the investigation.

Det Sgt Newton said she contacted Mrs Sapper, the three women’s mother, in 2021 but she refused to provide a statement.

“I called her up and explained my role and what it was I was investigating,” she said.

“She declined to participate.

“I did explain that if she changed her mind to call me and left my details… she didn’t.”

The court heard Mrs Sapper was actively involved in the Adass Israel school community, and was one of the “main drivers” who would chauffeur Ms Leifer around as she didn’t have a car or licence.

Earlier in the trial, prosecutor Justin Lewis told the jury that Ms Leifer’s three alleged victims grew up living “sheltered” lives with little interaction with the wider Melbourne community.

They suffered, he alleged, physical and verbal abuse growing up from their mother.

The sisters, who are separated in age by four years, allege the offences occurred while they were in their final years at the school and while they worked as junior religious studies teachers after graduating.

Judge Gamble told the court Mr Lewis and Mr Hill would be prepared to give their closing arguments in the latter half of this week and he “suspected” it will be mid next week before he asks the jury to retire to reach a verdict.

The trial continues.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/malka-leifer-mum-of-principals-alleged-victims-did-not-want-to-assist-investigation-court-told/news-story/5c6ec3acc12e0d2596188fed426839fb

U.S. NAVY SUBMARINE VISITS PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

U.S. EMBASSY IN CANBERRA - MARCH 1, 2023

United States Navy submarine USS Asheville is visiting Perth, Western Australia for combined training exercises with Royal Australian Navy submarine forces as part of a regularly scheduled patrol in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine docked at HMAS Stirling Naval Base on Garden Island, near Rockingham.

U.S. Consul General Perth Siriana Nair said the USS Asheville’s visit demonstrates the close and ongoing cooperation between the U.S. and Australia.

“Our alliance has existed for more than a century and is active today around the world, including here in Western Australia,” Consul General Nair said.

“I am proud to see our sailors working together, side by side, strengthening our capabilities at sea and building close friendships.”

USS Asheville’s Commanding Officer Commander Thomas Dixon said crewmembers were eager to work with their Australian allies.

“Australia has no closer friend than the United States. Together, we are deterring aggression and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” Cmdr. Dixon said.

U.S. Embassy Australia Naval Attaché Captain Kevin Quarderer said: “This cooperation builds on the longstanding and exemplary service of the Australian submarine force and it is truly an honor we are training together in Perth.”

The last U.S. Navy submarine to visit Perth was USS Mississippi in November. This followed the USS Frank Cable and USS Springfield visits in April 2022.

https://au.usembassy.gov/u-s-navy-submarine-visits-perth-western-australia/

>>18386885 (pb)

WA Police Commissioner Colin Blanch praises American drug agents

Two US drug agents who were forced out of Australia after complaints by the Australian Federal Police have been publicly applauded for uncovering what is claimed to be the country’s biggest ever cocaine haul.

Mark Morri - March 6, 2023

Two US Drug Enforcement Administration officers who were forced out of Australia after complaints by the Australian Federal Police to US ambassador Caroline Kennedy have been publicly praised for uncovering what is claimed to be the country’s biggest ever cocaine haul.

The agents, who are based in Sydney, tipped off police in Western Australia that 2.8 tonnes, valued at a billion dollars, was allegedly being shipped by a Mexican drug cartel to their shores leading to the arrest of 12 people including 8 from NSW in the past few weeks.

“We worked with these two officers on this job, they are the ones that provided us with the lead,’’ said WA Police Commissioner Colin Blanch in a clear rebuke of the position taken by his federal counterpart, Commissioner Reece Kershaw.

The Daily Telegraph revealed last week Mr Kershaw personally took the complaint to the US ambassador saying there were concerns about how the DEA officers operated, particularly on this importation, named Operation Beech.

“The AFP does not comment on current operational matters. It is imperative international agencies that operate in Australia adhere to Australian laws and respect Australia’s sovereignty,’’ the AFP said in a statement at the time.

But Commissioner Blanch didn’t hesitate in backing the Americans.

“We do this job lawfully, we make sure we do these jobs properly, I’ve got nothing but praise for those officers in this particular case and they did a good job with us,’’ Commissioner Blanch said.

The same DEA agents also worked with NSW police and the NSW Crime Commission in Operation Jillabenan which resulted in what was then the biggest cocaine haul when $900m worth of cocaine was allegedly seized.

In both operations the Australian Federal Police were not involved, believed to have sparked tension between the federal agency and the DEA.

The AFP believe there were actions undertaken in Operation Beech which were questionable leading to the complaint to the US which has caused a major rift between State and federal police.

“So far as the reason for the complaint I think that is an answer for the AFP, but there is nothing on this job that causes me any concern, nothing,’’ he said.

A number of sources believe much of the tension between the states and federal agencies is because the AFP did not get to take part in two of the biggest drug operations in Australian law enforcement history.

“These were really big jobs and the federal police would have had their noses out of joint that they were not in on them,’’ said a former government source.

“Working with the Americans is vital because they get some of the best intelligence about the cartels who are targeting Australia all the time.”

Privately, many NSW police are also perplexed at the complaint against the officers and are planning a small reception later this week to thank them for their time and co-operation with them.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-nsw/wa-police-commissioner-colin-blanch-praises-american-drug-agents/news-story/b1e9b4187ed2164435b814ffeb24004e

>>18427699

>>18438337

Donald J. Trump Truths

Three years ago, I declared that COVID-19 almost certainly came from the Chinese Wuhan lab. Now, the world is finally admitting the truth. The cover-up of COVID-19's origins is one of the greatest scandals in the history of the world. Millions of people all over the planet have died from the China Virus. Now it's time to hold China—and the corrupt forces who have facilitated this colossal suppression of facts—accountable for the damage they have inflicted upon all of humanity.

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/109972273191970300

—

“PRESIDENT DONALD J TRUMP: The world has finally woken to the truth about the Wuhan virus. Now it's time to hold China to account”

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11820301/DONALD-J-TRUMP-world-finally-woken-truth-Wuhan-virus.html

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/109966263156390280

>>18454236

DONALD J TRUMP: The world has finally woken to the truth about the Wuhan virus. Now it’s time to hold China to account

DONALD J. TRUMP - 5 March 2023

1/2

Three years ago, I declared that COVID-19 almost certainly came from the Chinese Wuhan lab. Now, the world is finally admitting the truth.

The cover-up of COVID-19's origins is one of the greatest scandals in the history of the world. Millions of people all over the planet have died from the China Virus.

The cost of the outbreak and the lying about its origins is incalculable, some say in excess of $50 trillion.

Now it's time to hold China—and the corrupt forces who have facilitated this colossal suppression of facts—accountable for the damage they have inflicted upon all of humanity.

According to recent reports, the U.S. Department of Energy has concluded a Wuhan lab leak is the likely cause of the pandemic. The FBI reached the same conclusion. The facts are now plain for all to see.

When I first suggested in early 2020 that the virus may have come from a lab, it was called 'racist,' a 'conspiracy theory,' and a claim for which 'there is no evidence'.

The entire globalist establishment—from the World Health Organization, to the media, to Anthony Fauci and the public health authorities, to the corrupt Silicon Valley tech giants, to Joe Biden—worked relentlessly to silence, censor, and shut down any suggestion that the so-called 'lab leak theory' could be true.

Scientists who called for transparency and investigation were attacked.

Facebook and Twitter labeled posts related to the theory as 'disinformation.'

The media mercilessly ridiculed the idea.

When Joe Biden came into office, he shut down the investigation my administration had launched into the true origins of the China Virus.

We all know the real reason for these censorship campaigns. The 'lab leak' did not serve their political agendas. So they did the Chinese Communist Party's dirty work, and effectively imposed China's propaganda on the Western world.

There must now be a reckoning. The sinister censorship regimes in the United States and throughout the West must be dismantled and destroyed.

This scandal is the best possible reminder of why we must have free speech.

The World Health Organization must also be held to account. The WHO, which effectively did China's bidding, fully endorsed the 'natural origin' theory, failed to conduct a thorough inquiry into the possibility that the virus came from a lab, and covered up for China at every turn.

The WHO strongly recommended against my early China travel ban—which was proven to be 100 percent correct. Because of it, we saved hundreds of thousands of lives in the U.S.

For this reason, as President, after my detailed requests for specific reforms were ignored, I terminated America's relationship with the World Health Organization.

The United States was paying the WHO $450million dollars a year when I dropped out, for 300 million people.

China was paying $40million dollars for 1.4 billion people. They wanted me to come back in very badly. They offered me to come back in for what China pays. I said, 'Some day I might take it, but you have to be admonished.'

(continued)

>>18454240

2/2

Not only did Joe Biden re-enter the WHO without getting any meaningful reforms, but he did so at full price, restoring the hundreds of millions of dollars American taxpayers send each year to an organization that badly misled the world in the service of Communist China.

Now, Joe Biden is negotiating to sign a treaty giving the WHO sweeping powers any time foreign bureaucrats decide to declare a pandemic.

In the event of a real emergency, the treaty would have us ship up to 20% of our medical supplies and medications to the WHO for distribution to other countries.

This outrageous globalist scheme would put America and other signatories on the path to surrendering our sovereignty to the whims of foreign public health bureaucrats—the same people who got COVID-19 completely and totally wrong.

The draft treaty also pushes censorship of disapproved speech about matters of public health—just like they censored the facts about the Wuhan Lab.

This is insanity. America and other free nations should have no part in it.

When I take the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States, I will once again withdraw the United States from the WHO, to protect our health, and to defend our freedom and independence.

Finally, now that the evidence of Chinese culpability is clear to all, we must hold China financially responsible for unleashing this plague upon the world.

Joe Biden will not do this. Biden is unbelievably weak on China—perhaps because his family has received millions of dollars from entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party.

Yet the need for accountability remains. China's deceptions and lies in the critical early phrase of the outbreak are well documented.

For example, they long insisted to the world that the virus could not spread from human to human.

They bought up vast quantities of PPE from all over the planet, while lying to other countries about the characteristics of the virus and the severity of the outbreak.

Their lies and deception killed any opportunity to stop this deadly global catastrophe at the start.

Add to that the probability that the virus emerged from a Chinese government lab, and may even have been engineered by Chinese government scientists, and it is clear that the nations of the world are not just owed a massive apology; they are owed massive damages.

To collect this compensation, nothing should be off the table—tariffs, taxes, and a global summit on reparations.

The World must ensure that such a tragedy never happens again!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11820301/DONALD-J-TRUMP-world-finally-woken-truth-Wuhan-virus.html

>Has POTUS ever made a statement that hasn’t been proven to be correct (future)?

>>18427699

>>18438337

>>18454240

POMPEO: It Was a Lab Leak

Mike Pompeo - March 4 2023

The Department of Energy this week announced what many of us have known since the earliest days of the pandemic: COVID-19 leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan. This new determination is yet another step toward dispelling the unlikely claim – once treated as the gospel-truth by the mainstream media – that the coronavirus was transmitted from an animal to a human, rather than made in a Chinese Communist Party-run lab. Getting this right is important for two reasons: First, it will allow us to understand how this pandemic really started and guard against future errors wrought by irresponsible and dangerous research. Second, we can finally, confidently place the blame for this pandemic where it belongs: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP unleashed this virus on the world and covered it up, and it needs to be held accountable for its malfeasance.

It is also worth remembering the mainstream media’s disingenuous, appalling efforts to suppress any credible assertions that COVID-19 may have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. I made clear as Secretary of State that there was a significant amount of evidence that suggested the virus had leaked from a lab. Rather than do their job, which was to honestly inform the public about important matters, the mainstream media chose to dismiss our findings as “conspiracy theories.” The Washington Post called the idea “vexing,” the New York Times called it a “fringe theory,” and one ABC reporter stopped just short of saying I needed a tin-foil hat. Even within the federal bureaucracy, there were so-called experts who were uninterested in discerning the virus origins – foremost among them being Anthony Fauci, who called the lab-leak theory a “shiny object.”

We didn’t listen to that noise. Instead, during my final days as Secretary of State, my team worked overtime to deliver a fact sheet based upon our own investigations and intelligence assessments regarding the spread of the virus. We did not claim to know with certainty whether the virus had leaked from a lab or not, as such a determination would have been impossible to make without access to the CCP’s closely guarded case data and information surrounding the virus. We simply laid out the facts for the American people and vowed that the United States would continue to pursue a “credible and thorough investigation,” as well as demand transparency from the Chinese Communist Party.

Sadly, the demand for transparency and accountability from the CCP that we pushed for so strongly in the Trump Administration has been sorely lacking from Team Biden. In the wake of the Department of Energy’s updated determination, the Biden Administration has seemed more interested in throwing cold water on the lab-leak theory than in actually demanding accountability from China. Honest questions about Fauci’s decision-making have been met with swift denouncements rather than serious inquiry or answers. Especially in the wake of the CCP spy balloon, this is a tailor-made opportunity for our leaders to put Xi and his cronies on their back foot and turn a global spotlight on the dangerously reckless regime in Beijing. Instead, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan opted to say there is “no definitive answer” on the origins of the virus, while President Biden himself has yet to weigh in.

This is more weakness from Biden. This Administration prizes cooperation – especially in the absurd, ethereal realm of climate change diplomacy – with the Chinese Communist Party’s leaders so much that it is willing to be soft on China in nearly every way. Let’s be clear: Regardless of this Administration’s views on the lab-leak theory, it is in the best interests of the American people (and the whole world) that we find out how this pandemic started and demand answers from the Chinese Communist Party. If this virus leaked from a lab in Wuhan, how can we be sure such a calamity will not befall the world again? The American people deserve answers – at the very least, the Biden Administration should declassify any information it can that led the Department of Energy to change its conclusion. Failure to do so will only further confirm this Administration’s shameful reluctance to confront the Chinese Communist Party.

Mike Pompeo is the former Secretary of State and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He is currently Senior Counsel for Global Affairs at the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).

https://aclj.org/foreign-policy/pompeo-it-was-a-lab-leak

>>18422759

>>18427738

TikTok banned by 25 government departments and agencies

Max Mason - Mar 6, 2023

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Chinese-owned viral video app TikTok has been banned from work-issued devices by 25 federal agencies and departments, including Foreign Affairs and Trade, Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Finance, as an investigation by Home Affairs into social media and what action the government should take nears completion.

An audit of all federal government departments and agencies by Liberal senator James Paterson through Senate questions on notice revealed the 25 departments and agencies banning TikTok on work-issued devices and a partial ban in 12. A further 11 permitted the app while five agencies did not respond or failed to answer directly.

Senator Paterson said the audit had “revealed a haphazard and inconsistent approach to banning the social media app TikTok from government-issued devices”.

“The risks posed by this app have been apparent for some time, particularly since their July 2022 admission about user data, and the revelations in December that employees of TikTok in China used the app to spy on journalists writing critical articles about the company and lied about doing so,” he said.

In response to a series of questions from The Australian Financial Review, TikTok said: “Just like many private sector organisations, Commonwealth government agencies have policies that may restrict the use of social media and messaging apps on devices. In the case of these departments, we understand the restrictions apply to a range of apps and software, not just TikTok.”

Canada last week announced it would bar all government employees from using TikTok on government-issued devices. Days earlier, the European Commission banned its staff from using the app. In December, the US Senate passed legislation banning TikTok from all US government devices.

TikTok chief operating officer Vanessa Pappas last week criticised US politicians who have been calling for the app to be banned altogether.

“Should there be national legislation? The answer is yes, but it should not be held to companies based on where they’re located,” Ms Pappas said during the Upfront Summit in Los Angeles. “It has to be an industry-wide conversation and not predicated on some xenophobia that we’re seeing.”

The Financial Review reported in 2021 that Home Affairs and Defence had already banned TikTok on department-issued mobile phones. Defence also banned Chinese-owned social media and messaging app WeChat in 2018.

“The risks associated with that application and the information that that application drew down, from both the device and the users’ interaction with that device, was seen as too high for us to allow its existence on departmental devices,” Department of Home Affairs deputy secretary Marc Ablong told Senate estimates in November.

Governments are concerned about data collection by US and Chinese social media companies. The Western intelligence community is particularly concerned about TikTok, links between its parent company ByteDance and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and China’s wide-reaching National Intelligence Law.

TikTok denies any data can be accessed by the CCP and says it has robust security protocols over who can access it.

China’s National Intelligence Law of 2017 requires organisations and citizens to “support, assist and co-operate with the state intelligence work”. The legislation was a major consideration for the government’s 2018 ban on Chinese telecommunications companies, including Huawei and ZTE, from providing equipment in the rollout of 5G mobile phone networks.

TikTok Australia is owned by TikTok Ltd, which is registered in the Cayman Islands. TikTok Ltd is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese multinational company based in Beijing and domiciled in the Cayman Islands.

(continued)

>>18454274

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In July 2022, TikTok admitted in a letter to Senator Paterson that TikTok employees around the world, including in China, can access certain data of millions of Australian users. At the time, TikTok maintained it had “strict protocols in place to protect Australian user data”.

“The Albanese government must now finally act. TikTok should be banned on all federal government devices unless exceptional circumstances exist,” Senator Paterson, who is chairing the Senate Select Committee on Foreign Interference Through Social Media, said on Sunday.

TikTok, in its submission to the Senate committee, said the app should not be used as a “political football”.

“As we embrace the opportunity to contribute to these discussions, we note as well that much has been made of our company’s Chinese heritage. We are proud of our heritage, and it’s important to note that we operate no differently to other global companies and claims to the contrary are unsubstantiated by evidence,” TikTok said.

“As this submission details, and as even a cursory search of our platform for politically contentious subject matter will reveal, we do not moderate content on TikTok based on the political sensitivities of any government, including China’s. For example, our users can readily find content on our app which contradicts the official Chinese government position on contemporary events, including the recent shooting down of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the United States.”

A spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said: “The Minister for Home Affairs is conducting a review of all social media platforms and she will consider the recommendations of that review once it is finalised.”

Home Affairs is due to hand the minister advice in the current quarter. Ms O’Neil has ruled out completely banning TikTok.

In December, US publication Forbes revealed ByteDance tracked a number of its journalists in an attempt to find sources for a series of stories exposing TikTok’s links to China. TikTok initially denied the first reports by Forbes in October, claiming it could not monitor US users the way the media outlet suggested, using IP addresses via the TikTok app. It also attacked the reporting in tweets stating it lacked “both rigour and journalistic integrity”. However, ByteDance now acknowledges its previous claims were false.

“I have been calling on the government to act to protect Australians since July 2022 when TikTok admitted to me in correspondence that our user data is accessible in China and therefore subject to the Chinese government’s national intelligence laws. I shared that correspondence with the Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security immediately,” Senator Paterson said.

“In the eight months since, all the government has done is seek advice about the risks posed by the app. Since then, our closest security partners and like-minded jurisdictions including the United States, Canada, Denmark and the European Union have banned the app from government devices. Australia could have led the world like we did banning Huawei from our 5G network in 2018, but we are now falling dangerously behind.”

The Financial Review last month revealed that members of parliament, senators and their staff were warned about installing apps “such as TikTok” on parliamentary and personal devices by the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS).

“Privacy settings on apps can be overly permissive or may contain security vulnerabilities that can allow access to information on your device,” the DPS email said.

“Consider the country of origin in which the app development company is located, including the government use of data in those countries.”

The email also urged the consideration of the terms and conditions of apps that may describe how data can be used or sent to third parties or government agencies.

(continued)

>>18454277

3/3

In July, the Financial Review first reported on analysis by Canberra-based cybersecurity and intelligence firm Internet 2.0 that revealed TikTok checks its users’ device location at least once an hour; continuously requests access to contacts even if the user originally denies; maps a device’s running apps and all installed apps; and more as part of broad permissions asked of users.

Facebook has faced intense scrutiny in recent years over its excessive data collection, privacy breaches and nefarious uses of the data it collects from users by third-party platforms. Facebook Messenger was singled out by OpenDemocracy for its excessive data collection, which included name, email, location, user ID, iMessage, photos and videos, health and fitness, and more.

UK-based consulting firm Cambridge Analytica infamously used data from Facebook for political profiling ahead of the 2016 US presidential election. In early 2020, the Australian information commissioner and privacy commissioner began court action against Facebook over potential breaches of privacy related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal from 2018.

Concerns about foreign interference and espionage are at an all-time high, according to Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess. Last month, the spy chief revealed ASIO had foiled multiple plots, including breaking up a “hive of spies” and attempts to cultivate journalists and judicial figures.

“The spies would use these opportunities to ingratiate themselves with the reporters, try to elicit insights on political, economic, defence and other issues, and identify any vulnerabilities that could be leveraged later,” he said.

“Almost certainly, the journalists’ phones, laptops and tablets would also have been targeted. If left unattended, even in a locked hotel room safe, the spies would have downloaded data and potentially installed malware giving them ongoing access to contacts, stories, emails and calls.”

https://www.afr.com/technology/tiktok-banned-by-25-government-departments-and-agencies-20230303-p5cp4o

>>18422854

Warning improved Australia-China relations not end to cyber interference

SARAH ISON - MARCH 6, 2023

China has used the election of a new government to seek to ­improve the perception of Beijing for ordinary Australians, while continuing steady cyber interference behind the scenes, the former head of the powerful US National Security Agency, Mike Rogers, has warned.

And the automation of industries such as mining provides more lucrative targets for cyber-attacks from state and non-state actors than ever before.

“(Australia has) created this amazing capacity to move massive amounts of core minerals or metals … you’ve automated the process,” he told The Australian in a broad-ranging interview. “The flip side is … you’re also increasingly a greater potential target (for attacks).” He said that Australia’s involvement in AUKUS, the Quad and other high level groupings also “increased interest” in the country as a target for cyber-attacks from nation states and criminals alike.

While agreeing there appeared to have been an improvement in the diplomatic relationship between Australia and China, Mr Rogers warned this would not flow through to the level of cyber interference Beijing conducted against Canberra.

“Historically for me as I look at the Chinese, I don’t see a direct correlation between the level of rhetoric and the level of cyber activity,” he said. “They have a sustained level and focus in cyber that is somewhat detached from the broader day to day geopolitical (situation).”

In comments made during a visit to Australia as part of his advisory work for firms such as CyberCX and Bondi Partners – founded by former treasurer Joe Hockey – Mr Rogers cautioned against the Medibank and Optus cyber-attacks being viewed as “isolated incidents”.

“I would not view them as isolated incidents that won’t (be) repeated,” he said. “The trends I see in the rest of the world are applicable here … both criminal actors and nation states are getting more aggressive, increasing their capability and the impact of some of their activities growing in visibility and in significance.”

He said despite the strong response from the public and the government to the two major hacks conducted by criminal gangs, the outcry would act as more of an incentive than disincentive for future attacks.

“It acts almost as a bit of incentive in the sense that they (cyber criminals) see effect and they see impact and they say to themselves, hey, is this something that perhaps we could replicate?”

It comes as figures released by SECNewgate reveal two thirds of Australians are concerned about the risk of cyber criminals stealing their personal information, with most supporting stronger rules being put in place around how much data organisations should be allowed to collect.

Almost 80 per cent responded they did not believe paying a ransom to cyber criminals should be allowed, while the government currently considers whether to make paying ransoms illegal.

But Mr Rogers said he was personally “leery” about the paying of ransoms becoming a criminal offence.

“There are discussions in the US along the same lines,” he said.

“I’m always leery about … a one size fits all. For example, when it comes to companies thinking through should (they) pay or not, one of the things I always asked is are (they) in a situation in which the potential to not regain functionality or access to your data potentially leads to loss of life or injury?”

But Mr Rogers did welcome the recommendations of the privacy review handed to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus that would give individuals the power to take companies to court if the personal data they handed over was breached by hackers.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/warning-improved-australiachina-relations-not-end-to-cyber-interference/news-story/8830e325dd3ea2e7100634a9179b8d5c

https://qalerts.app/?q=Adm+R&sortasc=1

https://qalerts.app/?q=rogers&sortasc=1

https://qalerts.app/?q=NSA&sortasc=1

>>18128911 (pb)

>>18369821 (pb)

‘Parents Need To Wake Up’: Advocates Sound Alarm About Satanist After-School Clubs Sprouting Across The Country

KATE ANDERSON - March 05, 2023

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The Satanic Temple (TST) made headlines in 2022 for fighting for the right to create after-school clubs for students and has recently been launching new groups across the country, raising concerns for religious advocates about the potential impact Satanism may have on students’ perception of faith.

A TST “After-School Satan Club” was approved in December 2022 at a Virginia elementary school, provoking many parents, who were disturbed by the push to indoctrinate children into Satanism, to protest the club, according to RealClearEducation. TST has announced the formation of multiple new clubs in New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado in just the past month and religious advocates have taken note of the trend, telling the Daily Caller News Foundation that the normalization of Satanism could be detrimental to students later in life.

“A satanic club is the antithesis of religion,” Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America, the nation’s largest women’s public policy organization, told the DCNF. “Groups like this have free speech rights but Satanism is not a religion. The fact that there are more of these clubs popping up means kids are searching for something to believe in.”

“The decision to promote the Satanic Temple in schools is a concerning development in districts across the country,” Delano Squires, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family. “This group has no more ‘right’ to students and schools as a Neo-Nazi club demanding representation. Schools should use wisdom and discernment with regard to decisions related to extracurricular activities.”

TST argued on its Twitter account that an upcoming vote at a Virginia school would determine whether its club should be on “equal footing” with other school groups, particularly religious clubs.

“The Chesapeake School Board will vote on two policy revisions tonight, putting non-profit organizations, including the After School Satan Club and the Good News Club, on equal footing for the use of school facilities,” TST’s Feb. 27 post read.

A flyer for Chesapeake, Virginia’s club, shared by TST’s National Campaign Director June Everett to Reddit in 2022, said students will be doing puzzles, games, crafts and nature activities in addition to being taught “benevolence and empathy, critical thinking, problem-solving, creative expression, personal sovereignty, and compassion.” While the club’s flyer claimed the program “does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology,” students are instructed in the seven tenets of TST.

TST describes its religion as a “scientific, rationalist and non-superstitious worldview” and Everett told NBC affiliate WAVY that the purpose of the clubs is to go “to schools where other religious clubs are operating” to provide an alternative.

(continued)

>>18454343

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Family Research Council Assistant Director Arielle Del Turco argued that TST isn’t interested in establishing “equal footing” but in undermining religion as a whole.

“It’s always a concern when people try to use kids to gain attention or legitimize themselves,” Del Turco told the DCNF. “Treating The Satanic Temple as a religion undermines the credibility of religion and its role in American society—but that’s their point. They are so desperate to advance a secular vision of society that they created a fake religion to challenge the role of Christianity in our public institutions.”

Del Turco said that TST’s clubs were simply a ploy to get schools to refuse them, so they could claim discrimination in order “push Christianity and other religions out of the public square. Squires also said that TST likely sees students as “pliable and easily influenced” and would therefore make the “perfect candidates” to be taught a “self-destructive worldview.”

Most recently, TST conflated concerned parents, who protested the Chesapeake club’s acceptance, with criminal activity, in a March 2 post on Twitter.

“Unfortunately, some individuals made violent threats in response to our request to use school facilities and to be treated the same as other groups,” the post said. “Anyone who has sought to block the After School Satan Club from meeting at B.M. Williams — even after the club and school were threatened — should ask themselves why they are siding with criminal actors over children and families gathering in fellowship.”

The Satanic Temple did not respond to multiple requests from the DCNF for comment.

Nance warned religious parents that the only ones who can truly protect their children from “false ideologies” is them.

“Parents need to wake up and understand false ideologies are everywhere and they must train up their children to follow the one true God of love, not one of evil and destruction,” Nance concluded.

Squires had a more hopeful outlook and told the DCNF that he believed the increased presence of Satanism might turn the next generation to God instead of away.

“It could easily exacerbate the current trend of Americans moving away from organized religion, often replacing that void with partisan political activity,” Squires said. “But, as a Christian, there is also a possibility that exposure to the beliefs of TST can push the next generation closer to God. Nothing makes light shine brighter than being surrounded by darkness.”

https://dailycaller.com/2023/03/05/antithesis-religion-after-school-satanism-clubs-student-influence-religious-advocates/

https://twitter.com/satanic_temple_/status/1630322286308777984

https://twitter.com/satanic_temple_/status/1631435878349393920

https://qanon.pub/#1832

https://qanon.pub/#4627

https://qanon.pub/#1432

>If America falls, the World falls.

Inside the Kennedy approach to US diplomacy

Hans van Leeuwen - Mar 7, 2023

If you’re the daughter of one of America’s most famous presidents and part of the country’s most glamorous political dynasty, making a splash as US ambassador to Australia should be as easy as getting out of bed.

What’s more, the US-Australia relationship is practically running itself at the moment: with both countries on the sharp edge of the strategic contest with China, initiatives such as AUKUS are flowing naturally out of the alliance’s policy pipeline.

But Caroline Kennedy, who has been President Joe Biden’s envoy in Canberra for eight months, is taking none of this for granted.

In her first major public media appearance since taking the job, she told The Australian Financial Review Business Summit that she was still feeling her way into the role, and focused on getting out and about.

She said that when she was ambassador to Japan under former president Barack Obama between 2013 and 2017, she had learnt that “it takes six to nine months to figure out what, where the opportunities really are, and then the rest of the time to try to make progress on them”.

The first thing she has learnt is that she isn’t here to do running repairs on the Australia-US relationship.

“I knew [the relationship] was going to be great … The only thing that surprised me was that it’s much better than great,” she said.

The machine is humming so well, in fact, that she doesn’t even need to be in the driver’s seat.

“Everybody here is so capable and there’s so much existing partnership, friendship, dialogue going on at all levels, that it isn’t even something that the … ambassador is the one that’s leading. I think the public is leading.”

This means her main task has been to go out and meet the public. And, being a Kennedy, the door has been wide open.

“I come from a family that’s so prominent, people know who I am. It’s allowed me to sort of connect with people in a way that they feel like they know me, and so they do,” she said.

Asked what she’s found most distinctive about Australians on her walkabouts, she mentioned: the nicknames we give each other; the mateship; and “the way people obey the traffic laws here”.

IRA, AUKUS and China

As she has got to know the country, the agenda is gradually taking shape. The top item on her to-do list seems to be defending Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act from criticisms that it will suck capital and green-tech activity away from Australia.

She turned that critique on its head, saying the IRA is a “huge opportunity” for Australia.

“You have a unique ability and opportunity to take advantage of the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act that almost no other country has,” she said, noting the two countries’ free-trade deal and Australia’s critical minerals resources and know-how.

The AUKUS partnership between Australia, Britain and the US to build nuclear submarines is the other big-ticket item, with the three leaders expected to this weekend put flesh on the bones of that deal.

Kennedy said AUKUS would expand outwards into quantum computing, artificial intelligence, hypersonics and cybersecurity, which would transform those industries and accelerate the development of new technology.

The third major plank of the relationship is the China challenge, where Kennedy was at pains to emphasise the consistency of approach from Canberra and Washington.

“The foreign minister and the prime minister have, you know, made clear that they want to stabilise the relationship, and President Biden also has made clear that we need to manage this responsibly,” she said.

“So I think all of us are looking for increased dialogue, for co-operation on areas like climate. But there are issues that we need to respond to.”

Kennedy is a political appointment, at a time when the two countries are both governed by parties of the centre-left. But the relationship needs to be able to survive changes in administration at either end – including the return of a potentially polarising and alliance-challenging figure like Donald Trump.

The ambassador could not offer any guarantees, but suggested that Biden’s preference for “competent, calm government” could be a kind of insurance policy.

“Of course there are issues that are hotly debated and polarising figures in politics, but I think overall that President Biden and the kind of commitment that he’s made to our global leadership as well as to tackling domestic challenges … is going to help stabilise our politics.”

https://www.afr.com/business-summit/inside-the-kennedy-approach-to-american-diplomacy-20230307-p5cq2x

Albanese to cement submarines deal in US next week

David Crowe and Matthew Knott - March 7, 2023

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Australia will cement a decades-long deal to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines at a formal announcement in the United States on Monday, amid heightened speculation over whether all the vessels will be made in Adelaide as planned.