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#37 - Part 101

Australia / China Tensions - Part 16

>>21642550 Quad leaders meet; group ‘incites bloc confrontation’ - "At the Quad leaders' summit US President Joe Biden hosted in his Delaware hometown over the weekend, the four-nation group - which consists of the US, Japan, India and Australia - agreed to expand security cooperation, including joint coast guard mission, with China on mind. The agenda of the meeting and its joint statement, which referred to East and South China Seas, exposed Quad's nature of bloc confrontation, analysts said on Sunday, criticizing the four-nation partnership for its detrimental role of fomenting confrontation and inciting geopolitical tensions in Asia Pacific. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan insisted earlier Saturday during a briefing with reporters that "China is not the focus of the Quad," CNN reported, but the issue (of China) featured throughout the day. The joint statement, released on the White House's website, did not directly name China, but it did mention "East and South China Seas," meanwhile, Biden was caught on a hot mic telling the other leaders that an "aggressive China is testing us," CNN reported. Anchored by shared values, the Quad leaders seek to uphold the international order based on the rule of law and they are "seriously concerned" about the situation in East and South China Seas, according to a joint statement after the summit." - Zhang Han and Guo Yuandan - globaltimes.cn

>>21642580 Taiwan in bid for UN membership after success for Palestine - Taiwan has urged Penny Wong to throw Australia’s support behind the self-governed territory’s bid for UN membership after the Albanese government backed Palestine’s admission to the global body. Taiwan’s top diplomat in Australia, Douglas Hsu, said Palestine’s recently upgraded UN status underscored the injustice of Taiwan’s exclusion from the organisation at China’s behest. “We found it very interesting and we found it very unreasonable, because Taiwan is a leading democracy,” he told The Australian. “Taiwan is an important economy in the world. We play a very important role in global supply chains. However, we are not even granted the status of being included in the United Nations.” As the Foreign Minister departed for New York to attend the UN General Assembly’s annual high-level session, Mr Hsu said: “We are asking like-minded countries to address this issue.” Taiwan’s request follows the Senate’s repudiation last month of Beijing’s interpretation of a 1971 UN resolution recognising the People’s Republic of China as “the only legitimate representative of China to the UN”. It passed a bipartisan motion declaring UN Resolution 2758 “does not establish the People’s Republic of China’s sovereignty over Taiwan and does not determine the future status of Taiwan in the UN, nor Taiwanese participation in UN agencies or international organisations”.

#37 - Part 102

Australia / China Tensions - Part 17

>>21642629 Labor elders now just weak-kneed ‘appeasers’ on AUKUS - "Paul Keating and Gareth Evans in their attacks on AUKUS demonstrate they have learned nothing from history. One lesson is that to keep the peace it’s necessary to maintain a balance between major powers and their allies. That was the key to peace in Europe for nearly a century after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. It’s the key to peace in the Indo-Pacific region today. We have to maintain a balance of power with an aggressive China. Both Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 of AUKUS will help to do that. If we don’t, China will dominate the region, reducing neighbouring countries to the traditional status of mere tributes to China. The South China Sea would be turned into a Chinese lake, giving China complete command of sea and air traffic through that vital waterway. And Taiwan would of course be incorporated into the People’s Republic of China. To stop this, there is a coalition of nations that balances the power of China and deters Chinese adventurism. That coalition is led by the US and its allies. It’s also includes countries such India and, for that matter, Indonesia, which while cautious not to become allies of any nation nevertheless want a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region. This seems to me to be a straightforward proposition for anyone who is concerned about Australia’s security. But the likes of Keating and Evans seem to think a policy of appeasement will work. If deterrence and power balances are one of the lessons of history, then another is that appeasement does not work. In the 1930s it failed and it is not going to work today. Using language such as de-escalation when the Russians are pouring missiles and bombs into Ukraine, the Iranians through their surrogates are firing thousands of rockets and missiles into Israel, and the Chinese are threatening and harassing allies such as The Philippines is the language of weakness and fear. They need to understand that unless this behaviour stops they run the risk themselves of escalating to the point of war with the West. If we stick with the appeasement strategy - the one favoured by Keating and Evans - that is the strategy that leads to war." - Alexander Downer, foreign affairs minister from 1996-2007, and high commissioner to the UK from 2014-18 - theaustralian.com.au

>>21648253 Defending nation’s sovereignty is not ‘appeasement’ - a response to Alexander Downer - "Could the Alexander Downer who accuses me and Paul Keating of appeasement possibly be the same Alexander Downer who recently wrote in this newspaper that if he had a vote in the US presidential election it would be for Donald Trump? That same Donald Trump whose willingness to accommodate Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine makes Chamberlain’s behaviour in Munich in 1938 seem almost Churchillian. And could this Downer, who now tells us the West is facing “an existential threat from the alliance of Russia, Iran and China”, possibly be the same Downer whose enthusiastic embrace of George W. Bush’s fanciful “axis of evil” (Iran, Iraq and North Korea) led us to blindly follow the US in its invasion of Iraq in 2003, with consequences resonating catastrophically ever since? I would normally ignore being offensively lectured to and misrepresented by a former foreign minister whose only memorable achievement in nearly 12 years in that office was longevity, but his latest contribution is so wrongheaded and at odds with Australia’s national interests as to demand a response. It is not appeasement to demand that those who beat the drums of war justify their fearmongering with more than rhetoric. And it is not appeasement to believe that Australia’s national interests - as for others in our region trying to navigate a course between the US and China – lie in maintaining close and mutually beneficial relations with both the neighbourhood giants, not becoming either’s patsy, and working diplomatically to encourage détente between them. While China’s behaviour certainly justifies push-back, much of it is no more than what we can and should expect of a rapidly, economically rising, hugely trade-dependent regional superpower, which is wanting to claim its own strategic space, and to generally reassert some of its historical greatness after more than a century of wounded national pride. It is not unreasonable to think much of China’s assertiveness would be significantly moderated were the US to step back from demanding recognition of America’s continued primacy, with Washington now seeing just about every arena as a zero-sum struggle for dominance." - Gareth Evans, Australia’s foreign minister from 1988-96 and president of the International Crisis Group from 2000-09 - theaustralian.com.au

#37 - Part 103

Australia / China Tensions - Part 18

>>21660354 Jim Chalmers takes economic charm offensive to China - Jim Chalmers has warned that further deterioration in China’s slowing economy would wreak havoc on Australia, with a drop of one percentage point in Chinese GDP growth projected to inflict about $6bn in lost domestic output. Amid global concerns over the rapid slowdown in China and as President Xi Jinping met his top comrades to discuss their enormous economic challenges, the Treasurer arrived in Beijing on Thursday to meet National Development and Reform Commission chair Zheng Shanjie, who oversees China’s five-year economic plans and the country’s foreign investment regime. Dr Chalmers, who late on Thursday co-chaired with Mr Zheng the first meeting of the ­Australia-China Strategic Economic Dialogue since 2017, said there were “consequences for us” if the Communist nation’s economic slowdown and structural challenges worsened. Writing for The Australian to mark the first visit to Beijing by a treasurer in seven years, Dr Chalmers said Australia’s resilience and prosperity were closely connected to China’s economy and the global economy, which is “why we monitor the Chinese economy so closely”. Hours before Dr Chalmers met his Chinese counterparts, China’s politburo - led by Mr Xi – pledged a new stimulus package to ­implement better “the driving role of government investment”.

>>21660373 China-Australia relations see more high-level exchanges, conducive to avoid amplifying difference: experts - "China-Australia relations have seen positive progress with more recent high-level exchanges, and observers noted that strengthened communication between the two sides can effectively avoid amplifying differences. The two countries' top diplomats met on Tuesday, meanwhile the fourth China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue is scheduled to be held in Beijing. According to Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, told Wong that both sides should continue to build a more mature, stable, and fruitful comprehensive strategic partnership. Both sides should properly handle the issues in bilateral exchanges and not define China-Australia relations from the perspective of differences, Wang said, hoping Australia joins hands with China to ensure that bilateral relations go on the right track and achieve more results. Wong said Australia is ready to work with China to strengthen economic and trade cooperation, engage in constructive communication on issues of differences, and promote the stable development of bilateral relations. The Australian side's adherence to the one-China policy has not changed, Wong said." - Xu Keyue - globaltimes.cn

#37 - Part 104

Australia / China Tensions - Part 19

>>21660409 Morrison pushes for stronger Quad to counter aggressive China - Scott Morrison has warned Quad leaders to not allow their “focus and agenda to become diluted and distracted” in a new era of globalised strategic rivalry pitting western powers against aggressive and coercive autocracies led by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Following criticism about the substance of the Quad leaders’ dialogue meeting in Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware last weekend, Mr Morrison said the pact between Japan, Australia, the US and India must be maintained and strengthened as a key pillar in deterring the “arc of autocracy”. Speaking at the Yomiuri International Economic Security Symposium in Tokyo on Thursday, the former prime minister launched a defence of his former government’s “strident position” towards Xi Jinping’s People’s Republic of China. “We can peacefully coexist, but only with the right safeguards in place. We must do so with our eyes wide open and with the good sense to put a sufficient deterrent in place to counterbalance the growing power and influence of autocracies,” Mr Morrison said. “The objective of such a deterrent is simple, to ensure that when President Xi (Jinping) wakes up every morning and thinks about Taiwan, he concludes ‘not today’.” Ahead of Jim Chalmers meeting with Chinese counterparts in Beijing on Thursday, marking the first visit to the Communist nation by an Australian treasurer in seven years, Mr Morrison explained why he had pushed-back against the PRC. “I believed this was necessary to counter the PRC’s deliberate strategy to test Australia’s will and to split us off from our allies and partners. I believed that pretending to share values and interests with an autocracy seeking to bully and coerce us, while they undermined the very rules and norms that afforded us our freedom, got us where we are today. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.”

>>21666439 Pierside accident: -China’s Newest Nuclear Submarine Sank, Setting Back Its Military Modernization- China’s newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank in the spring, a major setback for one of the country’s priority weapons programs, U.S. officials said. The episode, which Chinese authorities scrambled to cover up and hasn’t previously been disclosed, occurred at a shipyard near Wuhan in late May or early June. It comes as China has been pushing to expand its navy, including its fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. The Pentagon has cast China as its principal long-term “pacing challenge,” and U.S. officials say that Beijing has been using political and military pressure to try to coerce Taiwan, a separately governed island that Beijing claims as part of its territory. China says its goal in building a world-class military is to deter aggression and safeguard its overseas interests. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. doesn’t know if the sub was carrying nuclear fuel at the time it sank, but experts outside the U.S. government said that was likely. The Zhou-class vessel that sank is the first of a new class of Chinese nuclear-powered subs and features a distinctive X-shaped stern, which is designed to make the vessel more maneuverable. The sub was built by China State Shipbuilding Corp., a state-owned company, and was observed alongside a pier on the Yangtze River in late May when it was undergoing its final equipping before going to sea. After the sinking, large floating cranes arrived in early June to salvage the sub from the river bed, according to satellite photos of the site.

#37 - Part 105

Australia / China Tensions - Part 20

>>21718402 Darwin Port increases 'friendly cooperation' with China in new deal - The Chinese-controlled Port of Darwin has signed a "friendly cooperation" agreement with Shenzhen Port in southern China, a city that controversially entered a "strategic partnership" with the Northern Territory capital five years ago. Representatives from both ports last month conducted a signing ceremony in China's Guandong Province to establish the non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which aims to increase trade links between both strategic maritime gateways. Details of the "friendly port relationship" do not appear to have been announced locally in Australia, but according to official Chinese statements both parties will soon carry out "all-round in-depth exchanges and cooperation". In a brief statement, Darwin Port CEO Peter Dummett confirmed to the ABC that he had travelled to China to sign the agreement with Shenzen representatives on September 23. "Darwin Port and Shenzhen Port have entered into a friendly non-binding MOU in order to establish a closer relationship between both ports and to further understand potential business opportunities for trade and development." In 2015 the CLP Northern Territory government signed a $506 million deal with Chinese-owned Landbridge Group to lease Darwin Port for 99 years, sparking security concerns at the highest levels of Australia's defence department and in the United States. Last year, the Albanese government announced it would not cancel the controversial lease after a review by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet found there was "a robust regulatory system in place to manage risks to critical infrastructure". Both the federal government and Northern Territory government are yet to respond to requests for comment about the recent "friendly cooperation agreement" struck between Darwin Port and Shenzhen Port.

>>21739533 Chinese trade restrictions on Australian lobsters to be lifted before Chinese New Year - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he has secured a promise from China's Premier Li Qiang to lift a ban on Australian rock lobsters by the end of the year. The news will be welcomed by the rock lobster industry, which has struggled since being locked out of the lucrative market, and which had been growing increasingly frustrated by the delay to restoring the trade. Mr Albanese met with Premier Li today on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting in Laos, and emerged saying China's second most senior leader had agreed on a "timetable" to let lobsters back by the end of this year, in time for Chinese New Year in early 2025. "This will be welcomed by the people engaged in the live lobster industry in places like Geraldton and South Australia and Tasmania and so many parts of particularly regional Australia," he said. Australian rock lobster exports to China were worth some $700 million a year before Beijing locked them out as part of a broader campaign of economic punishment against Australia in 2020 and 2021, when the bilateral relationship hit its nadir. China has already removed tariffs and barriers on a host of other Australian products – including wine, coal and barley – leaving lobsters as the last major industry that remained frozen out of the massive market. Mr Albanese told journalists in Vientiane that Premier Li's promise had once again vindicated the government's approach to China. "With our patient, calibrated and deliberate approach, we've restored Australian trade with our largest export market, and today we discussed restarting exports of Australian live rock lobsters," Albanese said in Laos.

#37 - Part 106

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 1

>>21258061 Satanic Temple set to return to Memphis-area school with 'Before School Satan Club' - The Satanic Temple has plans to come back to the Memphis area. After hosting its “After School Satan Club” at Cordova-based Chimneyrock Elementary on Jan. 10, the Salem, Massachusetts-based nonprofit is poised to host a “Before School Satan Club” in the coming weeks. The pending dates are March 20, April 17, and May 15, from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., the group said in a social media post. The plan is to offer science projects, community service projects, puzzles and games, nature activities, arts and crafts, and snacks. A flyer posted on Twitter says “Hey Kids! Let’s have fun at the Before School Satan Club!” When the group started promoting the “After School Satan Club,” it used the line, “Hey Kids, Let’s have fun at the After School Satan Club.” Not long after The Satanic Temple started promoting the original After School Satan Club, interim superintendent Toni Williams, board chair and reverend Althea Greene, and board member Mauricio Calvo passionately denounced the group, while flanked by pastors of local churches. “As a superintendent, I am duty bound to uphold our board policy, state laws, and the constitution,” Williams said at the time. “But let’s not be fooled. Let’s not be fooled by what we’ve seen in the past 24 hours, which is an agenda, initiated to make sure that we cancel all faith-based organizations that partner with our district.” Added board chair Althea Greene: “You see the faith-based community standing here,” she said. “We're going to stand up and we're going to be vocal. Satan has no room in this district.”

>>21258069 Satanic group leads invocation at Ottawa County board meeting amid lobby uproar - Protest and support chants erupted in the lobby steps away from the Ottawa County board podium, where a leader of a West Michigan satanic group led the commissioners in prayer before a meeting Tuesday night. Standing tall with a smile in the middle of a small room with every seat filled, a man identifying himself as Luis Cypher with the Satanic Temple of West Michigan greeted residents and commissioners before delivering the opening invocation. "That must be destroyed by truth, should never be spared. It's demise. It is done. Hail Satan. Thank you very much, we wish everyone a wonderful evening tonight," Cypher said while raising his hand with his index finger and pinky extended in the air. What appeared to be over 100 individuals flocked to the lobby ahead of the meeting, signs were waved reading "One Nation Under God" as well as chants of "Hail Satan!" and "We Love Satan!" The allowance of a Satanic Temple, described on their website among other things as a "leading beacon of light in the battle of abortion access," sparked an uproar at the Tuesday night meeting. Ottawa County residents took advantage of the public comment period to advocate toward beliefs of God, shaming the Satanic temple. "Tonight you all had failed miserably in your primary responsibility. You have out of the respect for a flawed custom of men allowed worship not only to a false ideal of man's creation but to the greatest enemy of the all good God who allowed you to fill these positions," one resident said at the podium while holding a cross.

>>21258072 Video: Commissioner disagrees with policy allowing Satanist to give opening prayer - Ottawa County Commissioner Doug Zylstra disagrees with a policy change allowing an ordained minister of Satan to give opening prayer during a board meeting Tuesday. Luis Cypher, head of the Satanic Temple of West Michigan, delivered the opening invocation while over a hundred attended, many pushing back against his troubling remarks. On Tuesday, people choosing to worship Satan, and those worshiping Jesus came face to face. A protest erupting ahead of Tuesday's meeting. “That which can be destroyed by truth should never be spared its demise. It is done, hail Satan," Cypher said. Many attending Tuesday's meeting held signs, sang and prayed while disagreeing with the choice to let Cypher speak. Followers of Christ held flags with "One Nation under God" while others like Joseph Amorasos prayed for change. “For the lord has truly risen, hallelujah, let us pray," Amorasos said. Every chair in the meeting room was filled, while overflow in the hallway sang Amazing Grace. One woman even held a sign with "My Jesus mercy" while Cypher gave his remarks.

#37 - Part 107

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 2

>>21258080 Satanic Temple invocation forces Ottawa County to reckon with the meaning of religious freedom - It was an odd night in Ottawa County. The planned invocation from the Satanic Temple of West Michigan, scheduled several months after a lawsuit led the board to develop new policies for accepting invocation requests, drew hundreds to the Fillmore Complex on Tuesday. The Satanic Temple of West Michigan announced in March they'd been scheduled to give the meeting’s prayer April 23. The meeting drew one of the largest crowds the board has seen since Ottawa Impact commissioners took office in January 2023. Hundreds gathered in the lobby and in front of the Fillmore Complex. Many stood in small groups to pray, sing hymns and hold signs opposed to the TST. Attendees in the lobby continued to sing through the start of the meeting, including during the invocation. Cypher, minister of Satan and lifelong resident of Ottawa County, gave an invocation which, including an introductory statement, lasted about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. He started by offering a “loving embrace” to residents. “Let us stand now, unbound and unfettered by arcane doctrines born of fearful minds in darkened times. Let us embrace the Luciferian impulse to eat of the tree of knowledge and dissipate our blissful and comforting delusions of old,” Cypher said. Commissioners Gretchen Cosby and Kendra Wenzel prayed to themselves during the invocation. Prior to the meeting, Commissioner Rebekah Curran handed out heart-shaped cookies with “John 3:16” stickers on the packaging. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." When the meeting moved to public comment, Curran was the first speaker. She offered a prayer from the lectern. “I feel like it's a really important moment in time to not only show the love of Christ, but show the power of Christ,” Curran said. “I just pray that everyone will feel the manifest presence of God in this room and in this building today.”

>>21258091 Q Post #3967 - These people are pure evil. This is not about politics. You are ready. Q - https://qanon.pub/#3967

>>21258091 Q Post #4545 - Humanity is good, but, when we let our guard down we allow darkness to infiltrate and destroy. Like past battles fought, we now face our greatest battle at present, a battle to save our Republic, our way of life, and what we decide (each of us) now will decide our future. Will we be a free nation under God? Or will we cede our freedom, rights and liberty to the enemy? If America falls so does the world. If America falls darkness will soon follow. Only when we stand together, only when we are united, can we defeat this highly entrenched dark enemy. This is not about politics. This is about preserving our way of life and protecting the generations that follow. We are living in Biblical times. Children of light vs children of darkness. United against the Invisible Enemy of all humanity. Q - https://qanon.pub/#4545

>>21274018 Australian Federal Police charge man for allegedly trafficking Indonesian girl to Sydney to work in brothels - A man has been charged with recruiting a teenager from Indonesia to work in Sydney brothels as part of what authorities say is an international sex trafficking ring. Australian Federal Police (AFP) claim to have removed at least seven potential victims from sexual exploitation following a 20-month investigation into the alleged syndicate operating between Australia and Indonesia. A 43-year-old Arncliffe man has been charged with one count of trafficking children and is accused of facilitating the transportation of a 17-year-old girl from Indonesia to Sydney to engage in sex work. Authorities also allege he was the "principal" in the criminal operation. AFP officers have been working with Indonesian authorities since December 2022 after receiving intelligence about a trafficking ring forcing young women into sexual servitude in Sydney brothels. Officers searched several properties in Sydney's south-west in March this year, where they allegedly found several foreign nationals who were identified as potential victims of human trafficking. AFP Commander Kate Ferry said she was "confident we have disrupted the criminal syndicate". "This result is a testament to our resolve and the resolve of the Australian Federal Police to stop the exploitation of vulnerable women being trafficked into Australia for sexual exploitation," Commander Ferry said. "We understand it can be incredibly difficult for vulnerable victims to come forward, and we want to assure them that there is help and protection available."

#37 - Part 108

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 3

>>21274077 Video:The children for sale - and the Australians who exploit them- Anna dreams of becoming an astronaut when she grows up. “I want to go to the moon,” the 12-year-old murmured as she stared down at her interlaced hands inside a children’s rescue shelter three hours north-west of the Philippines’ capital, Manila. The moon is worlds away from the province of Bulacan, where Anna and her two younger cousins - aged 11 and 8 - were sexually abused by their parents and two uncles. Their offenders arranged for Western foreigners to purchase live-stream viewings of the crimes and watch from thousands of kilometres away for their sick sexual gratification. Shamefully, Australian predators are major contributors to the dark and disturbing trade. The children were told the acts were needed to pay for food, clothes and school. International law enforcement alerted local authorities to the abuse and the three cousins were sent to the People’s Recovery, Empowerment and Development Assistance Foundation (Preda), where they have spent more than two years trying to heal from a type of pain no child should ever understand, let alone feel. The phones used to record the abuse were traced to their parents, who are detained awaiting trial and their uncles, who fled and are at large. The Philippines is the global epicentre of the live-stream child sexual abuse trade, according to the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund. According to the 2022 Disrupting Harm Study conducted by UNICEF, ECPAT International and Interpol, 20 per cent of internet-using Filipino children aged 12 to 17 were subjected to online abuse and exploitation, representing an estimated 2 million children. Statistics show Australia is among the leading countries feeding the demand. Rescue organisations say the issue has worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic began, when high internet usage combined with lockdowns created a thriving environment for online exploitation. Behind each statistic is an innocent child who, in the majority of cases, has been abused by those they trusted the most, selling their bodies to Australians and other foreigners for as little as $20 per act of abuse.

>>21332280 National Gallery of Australia acquires painting by controversial artist Paul Gauguin for almost $10 million - Paul Gauguin was a violent paedophile. The blue roof, or Farm at Le Pouldu, by Paul Gauguin has been purchased by the National Gallery of Australia for $9.8 million, becoming the first painting by the artist in an Australian public collection. Gauguin is one of the world's most famous artists, but has a controversial legacy due to accusations of sexual predation of girls while in French Polynesia.

>>21348278 Brett Sutton - Australian coach of olympic triathlon medallist was child sex offender - An Australian who coached the women’s triathlon silver medallist is the second known child sex offender to be accredited for the Paris Olympics. The presence of the Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was jailed for raping a 12-year-old British girl, caused a storm of protests when he competed last weekend. Now The Sunday Times can reveal that on Wednesday Brett Sutton, 65, who had been given accreditation by China, attended the triathlon to watch his athlete, Switzerland’s Julie Derron, take silver ahead of Team GB’s Beth Potter. Sutton even gave an interview to Swiss television close to the finish line on Pont Alexandre III in which his official Olympic accreditation lanyard could be seen hanging from his neck. Sutton pleaded guilty in 1999 to five counts of sexual abuse of a 13-year-old Australian girl, a talented swimmer he had been coaching. He was sentenced to two years in prison the year before the Sydney Olympics, but the sentence was suspended for three years. The judge, Robert Hall, said that Sutton had interfered with the girl in a “gross and disgraceful way” and “abused his role to an inexcusable degree”, but he took into account that, as the national triathlon coach, Sutton was preparing a number of athletes for the Games. “A large number of leading athletes will suffer disadvantage from your absence from the scene,” Hall said. Sutton has been at the Olympics despite being banned from coaching by several federations.

#37 - Part 109

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 4

>>21354276 Australian sex offender has left the Games, IOC looking into the issue - A convicted sex offender who coached women’s triathlon silver medallist Julie Derron of Switzerland has left the Paris 2024 Games and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Sunday it was looking into the matter. Australian Brett Sutton appeared on an interview with Swiss TV channel RTS commenting on Derron's performance after Wednesday's triathlon. He was wearing an Olympic accreditation and was also seen wearing a red jacket with the Chinese flag and Olympic rings on it. The Chinese Olympic Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In 1999, Sutton pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual abuse of a 13-year-old Australian swimmer he had been coaching and was sentenced to two years in prison. The sentence was suspended for three years. "I understand that this person is no longer here at the Games, they have left the Games," IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told a press conference on Sunday. "It is an issue for the Chinese Olympic Committee and the national federation will need to get involved," he added, referring to reports that Sutton had been accredited by the Chinese Committee. "Looking forward I can tell you we will obviously look into this issue." "Coaches are not accredited by us but by the National Olympic Committees, and approved by the IOC," a World Triathlon spokesperson said on Sunday.

>>21386017 Video:How 'unassuming' crocodile expert Adam Britton shocked a community- Every month, Merinda Sharp cuts flowers and visits her neighbours' neglected rural home. "I put them on the gate, in memory of the torture and the horrific life that those animals went through," she says. On the outskirts of Darwin, hidden within a tight-knit outback community of dusty and isolated sprawling properties, where dogs are trained to scare off visitors, this one remained quiet and overlooked for years. Then one of the nation's worst cases of bestiality exposed the sinister events that had been taking place for almost a decade, sending shock waves through the neighbourhood and fracturing it with disbelief. Adam Britton, celebrated as a world-renowned crocodile expert and zoologist, was arrested and remanded in custody in 2022, last year pleading guilty to 60 charges of bestiality, animal cruelty and possessing child abuse material. In a shipping container he called his "torture room", Britton filmed himself abusing, raping and killing dozens of dogs and puppies. In some instances, he would drive to a secluded location to brutally murder his victims "for his own sadistic sexual pleasure", court documents state. Between 2020 and 2022, Britton sourced 42 dogs for free from online classifieds giant Gumtree, promising their previous owners he would give them a "good home". Britton killed at least 39 of them before his arrest. The details of Britton's crimes are so graphic, the ABC has chosen not to publish them in full.

>>21386104 Adam Britton:TV croc expert who filmed dog abuse, killings jailed for ten years- A prominent crocodile expert who appeared on ABC will spend the next six years behind bars after admitting to the “sadistic” torture and sexual abuse of more than 42 dogs. Adam Robert Corden Britton, 51, was sentenced before Darwin Supreme Court on Thursday to 10 years and five months behind bars with a non-parole period of six years. Britton, who worked as a croc expert with David Attenborough on the BBC as well as National Geographic, was also sentenced for the possession of child abuse material. It comes two years after Britton’s arrest and almost a year after he was found guilty, but was slammed as “pathetically weak” by Animal Justice Party MLC Emma Hurst. “These were horrific acts of animal cruelty. There is a well-researched link between violence towards animals and violence towards people,” Ms Hurst said in a statement. “This man is a danger to other animals and the community. I am relieved to hear his sentence includes time behind bars … but it is not long enough.” According to the facts, Britton would refer to the cruelty as “ZooSadism” and posted to Telegram groups such as “New Wicked Kennel”, which had 15 users. In an online chat, Britton referred to his “torture room” and what implements he would use, including a bread knife, before adding that: “I can’t stop myself hurting dogs. “I am going to get another dog to kill tomorrow. I plan to hurt it, a lot. I am ridiculously excited about it,” he said.

#37 - Part 110

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 5

>>21386175 Adam Britton:NT crocodile expert sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for bestiality and animal cruelty crimes- Adam Britton, a once-celebrated zoologist, remained expressionless as he was sentenced to 10 years and five months in prison, with a non-parole period of six years, for the rape, torture and murder of dozens of dogs. His sentence was backdated to his arrest in April 2022. Britton has been on remand at the Darwin Correctional Centre since his arrest, and has faced multiple delays to sentencing since pleading guilty to 60 charges of bestiality, animal cruelty and possessing child abuse material last year. On Thursday afternoon, in front of a packed gallery in the Northern Territory Supreme Court, as Chief Justice Michael Grant detailed what he described as Britton's "grotesque" and "unspeakable" crimes against animals, the distress in the courtroom was palpable. Like at previous court appearances, Justice Grant warned that the details had the potential to cause "nervous shock or some other adverse psychological reactions" and excused court officers. While Adam Britton marketed himself as an acclaimed crocodile expert and researcher, appearing in National Geographic and in documentaries alongside David Attenborough, he concealed a disturbing double life systematically torturing animals for years. Britton sourced 42 dogs from online classifieds giant Gumtree between 2020 and 2022, promising dog owners - who were often reluctantly giving their pets away due to travel or work commitments — that he would give them a "good home". He then filmed himself raping and killing them in a shipping container he called his "torture room" on his rural property on the outskirts of Darwin. On the free messenger service Telegram, Britton discussed his kill count and uploaded videos of his murders under the pseudonyms 'Monster' and 'Cerberus'. Justice Grant said Britton's communications with other users on Telegram incited violence, and said it was "manifestly clear" that he derived "perverse pleasure and excitement from the suffering of these animals". "Your conduct on each of those occasions involved a degree of depravity and reprehensibility which falls entirely outside any ordinary human conception and comprehension," Justice Grant said.

>>21386240 Adam Britton:British croc expert jailed for sexual abuse of dogs- A renowned British crocodile expert has been jailed for 10 years and five months in Australia, after admitting to sexually abusing dozens of dogs, in a case which horrified the nation. Adam Britton, a leading zoologist who has worked on BBC and National Geographic productions, pleaded guilty to 56 charges relating to bestiality and animal cruelty. The Northern Territory (NT) Supreme Court heard the 53-year-old filmed himself torturing the animals until almost all died, and then shared the videos online under pseudonyms. His abuse went unnoticed for years, until a clue was found in one of his videos. Britton was arrested in April 2022 after a search of his rural Darwin property, which also uncovered child abuse material on his laptop. Much of the detail of Britton's crimes are too graphic to publish, and so "grotesque" Chief Justice Michael Grant warned the courtroom they could cause "nervous shock". As the facts of the case were read aloud, some members of the public rushed outside. Others watching from the gallery cried and mouthed insults at Britton. He at times hung his head and reached for tissues. Born in West Yorkshire, Britton grew up in the UK before moving to Australia more than 20 years ago to work with crocodiles. With a PhD in zoology, he had built a global reputation for his expertise, even hosting Sir David Attenborough while the veteran broadcaster filmed part of the Life in Cold Blood docuseries on his property. Locals have told media he seemed like a quiet but passionate defender of animals. But he was harbouring a "sadistic sexual interest" in them, court documents say. In reality, he was abusing the animals in a shipping container on his property that had been fitted out with recording equipment - which he called his "torture room" - before sharing footage of his crimes online using aliases. He was only caught after uploading a clip in which he tortured at least eight dogs - all except one were puppies - which was passed on to NT police in an anonymous tip-off. Britton usually went to great lengths to avoid identifying himself or his location in his videos, but in this one a bright orange City of Darwin dog leash could be seen in the background. Within weeks, in April 2022, police swooped on his property and arrested Britton, who has been remanded in custody ever since.

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Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 6

>>21396446 ‘He could’ve been stopped’: State pays $34m compensation to survivors of paedophile teacher - Survivors of a paedophile teacher who was moved around Victorian schools for decades received up to $34 million compensation from the state government - the highest payout linked to a state school offender. Vincent Henry Reynolds was jailed in 2019 after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing 38 children over three decades at state primary schools across north and central Victoria. The 83-year-old is serving a 12-year sentence and will be eligible for parole after spending nine years behind bars. The $34 million in compensation paid to his victims is the most the department has paid out in relation to a single perpetrator. But one man, abused by Reynolds as a schoolboy and who did not wish to be named, told The Age that the damage could not be measured in monetary terms. “It’s lives lost, education abandoned, health and happiness destroyed,” the survivor said. “He could have been stopped, and we could have been spared. It’s heartbreaking.” Rightside Legal partner Grace Wilson said mismanagement by education authorities over the years had allowed Reynolds to wreak havoc on many lives. “The mismanagement beggars belief. The cost to the state of repeatedly putting a sex offender back into the classroom is big, but the cost to the victims is much, much bigger,” Wilson said. The lawyer said the compensation helped many victims put their lives back together, but only to an extent. “Nothing can restore the childhood innocence they were robbed of.”

>>21409571 Notorious pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale admits more child sex abuse - Convicted pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale has admitted more historical child sexual abuse in Victoria. Appearing in Bendigo Magistrates Court via video link from Port Phillip Prison, as he lay in his prison bed and propped up by three pillows, the frail 90-year-old pleaded guilty to eight additional sexual assault charges against children. He was facing 62 child sexual assault charges but 56 were withdrawn. The former Catholic priest, who had been too unwell to appear before his committal hearing previously, admitted six counts of indecently assaulting young males and two counts of buggery of two children who were aged under 14. The crimes were committed in the regional Victorian towns of Inglewood, Ballarat, Apollo Bay, Horsham and Mortlake between 1973 and 1981. "Are you guilty or not guilty, Mr Ridsdale," Magistrate Megan Aumair asked the accused on Wednesday. "I'm guilty," Ridsdale replied. Ridsdale is serving a maximum of 40 years in prison after previously pleading guilty to sexually abusing at least 72 children during the 1970s and '80s while working as a Catholic priest at multiple schools and churches across Victoria. He had a fall in November 2022 and was bed-ridden, suffering chronic pain, muscle wasting and weak limbs and was recommended to be placed into palliative care in 2023. If he serves out his current maximum sentence, Ridsdale will be at least 100 years old.

>>21415088 Geelong man from secretive church pleads guilty to raping multiple boys - A member of a secretive and ultra-conservative Pentecostal church has pleaded guilty to raping and persistently sexually abusing multiple children in the Geelong area. Todd Hubers, 38, also known as Todd Hubers Van Assenraad, from East Geelong, was charged in January 2023 with a string of child abuse charges relating to nine boys, including the sexual penetration of two children who were aged under 12 years old. On Thursday, Hubers, a software engineer, stood for the County Court via video link from remand at Ravenhall Correctional Centre and uttered the word “guilty” after each of the 16 charges. The court heard that between 2016 and 2023 Hubers sexually penetrated and touched boys aged 16 and two boys aged under 12, multiple times, and performed indecent acts in front of other children. The court heard the crimes took place at various locations around the Geelong and Bellarine Peninsula areas including at public swimming pools and on one occasion inside play equipment. Hubers is a member of the controversial Geelong Revival Centre (GRC), where sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity said he taught religion and music within the assembly. The Age has previously spoken to more than a dozen former GRC members who raised serious allegations about a range of incidents stemming from their years inside the church. These include alleged incidents of sexual abuse not being reported to police, claims of brutal physical punishments on children, pressure on members not to seek medical treatment for serious illnesses in the belief that prayer would be sufficient, and the forced separation of families if a member decides to leave the church.

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Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 7

>>21415105 Identities of abusers should be listed on church websites, WA child sexual abuse inquiry finds - The names of known child abusers should be published prominently on church websites and the WA government should create a centrally accessible list of all known perpetrators, an inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse has urged. The Community Development and Justice Standing Committee handed down its final report on Thursday after examining the support available to survivors of institutional child abuse. It found the Catholic Church and other religious entities had prioritised their own institutional and financial wellbeing over the needs of those that had been abused by their members. "Institutions that maintain an unholy wall of silence can only be doing so as a strategy to limit their financial liability rather than providing just outcomes for victim/survivors," the committee said in its report. "Transparency would be a game changer." The committee singled out the Christian Brothers, accusing them of moral failure by trying to hide information on the abuse of children under their care to protect their financial viability. It claimed they refused to attend the inquiry - despite every effort made to accommodate them - giving reasons "that did not bear scrutiny". "It is the conspiracy of secrecy and institutional denial around abuse that not only adds to the trauma suffered by those who were abused but also obstructs their path to justice," committee member Christine Tonkin told state parliament on Thursday.

>>21489976 Muhammad Zain Ul Abideen Rasheed sentenced to 17 years in jail for sexual abuse of hundreds of victims - A sex predator who pretended to be a teenage YouTube star to blackmail hundreds of children into performing sexual acts has been sentenced to 17 years in jail. In handing down her sentence in the District Court of WA on Tuesday, Judge Amanda Burrows said the volume of offences was of such magnitude there was "no comparable case … I can find in Australia". Muhammad Zain Ul Abideen Rasheed, 29, targeted children in Australia and overseas by pretending to be a 15-year-old social media influencer with a large following. He would approach children online in that guise, sending them pictures of the online star and initially asking innocuous questions to gain their trust. The court heard that then escalated to sexually explicit "fantasies" he asked them to approve of, while also asking them for pictures of themselves he could "rate". He threatened to send screenshots of their responses to friends and family unless they performed increasingly extreme sexual acts - including those involving family pets and other young siblings or children in the home. In sentencing, Judge Burrows said those offences were "of a degrading, humiliating nature [and] the conduct involving a family pet was particularly abhorrent". The court heard Rasheed would set a "countdown" timer, threatening to distribute the responses and further images he had made of them if they didn't comply with his demands. Judge Burrows said Rasheed's offending was aggravated by the fact he abused a number of the victims with groups of other adults, inviting other paedophiles to watch live streams while he directed children to perform the distressing acts.

>>21492766 Video: AFP to take on cyberscam kingpins fleecing Australians of billions - The Australian Federal Police is taking on cyber scam syndicates netting billions of dollars a year from unsuspecting Australians in a new global operation using the same sophisticated tactics that have helped bring down some of the nation’s most-wanted offshore criminals. Operation Firestorm will focus on disrupting online criminal networks operating out of Southeast Asia and Eastern ­Europe that fleeced Australians out of $2.74bn last year, and restraining the assets of syndicate crime bosses, The Australian has been told. It will also seek to disrupt human trafficking networks that The Australian revealed in an investigation in May had already tricked tens of thousands of workers into forced criminality in cyber slave factories operating across Southeast Asia. The global initiative is being welcomed by enforcement agencies across Southeast Asia, where increasingly sophisticated, Chinese-run criminal networks are generating more revenue than the regional drug trade. The operation will be run out of the AFP-led Joint Policing Cybercrime Co-ordination Centre (JPC3) in Sydney, which brings together law enforcement and key industry partners including Austrac and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission in the fight against cybercrime. It will involve extensive co-­operation and intelligence sharing with partners worldwide to reach criminals fleecing Australians.

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Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 8

>>21494425 ‘Leader of the Pack’: Inmate allegedly led child sex abuse ring from prison - A woman who called herself “leader of The Pack” was allegedly directing a child abuse ring from inside a NSW prison, police say. Jessica Isabelle Rose, 31, a transgender woman formerly known as Dean Angus Bell, allegedly directed a group of inmates who called themselves “The Pack” to share letters detailing the sexual abuse of children and plans to abuse more children in the future. The group allegedly wrote accounts based on real-life experiences of abusing children, as well as assaults they planned to commit after release - with murder allegedly mentioned in one of the stories. The group allegedly passed the stories between them at Junee Correctional Centre. Police became aware of the alleged child abuse ring in April as part of Strike Force Edits, which was established to uncover the distribution of child abuse material in NSW prisons. Sex crimes detectives identified the group of inmates as part of their investigation and arrested Rose at Junee Correctional Centre on Tuesday. The size of “The Pack” will form part of investigations, but police believe a significant number of inmates could be involved, due to the amount of child abuse material allegedly being created. The priority for police was to arrest the alleged leader and disperse the group, with more arrests expected in the near future. Rose was taken to Wagga Wagga police station and charged with eight counts of producing child abuse material, eight counts of disseminating the material, and knowingly directing a criminal group. Bail was not applied for and was formally refused. She will next face court on October 23.

>>21494429 Former Sydney swimming coach Dick Caine revealed as serial paedophile - Former elite swimming coach Dick Caine has been revealed as a serial paedophile after a judge found he had sexually abused six underage students, and lifted an order concealing his identity to the applause of his victims. Caine, who was head coach at the Carss Park swimming pool in Sydney’s south for decades, pleaded not guilty to 39 charges against girls aged 10 to 16 across the 1970s and 1980s. The 78-year-old did not appear for a single day of his lengthy judge-alone special hearing in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court after he was previously deemed unfit to face a criminal trial due to health reasons. The court heard that Caine was in palliative care in hospital. Delivering his long-awaited judgment, Judge Paul McGuire found “on the limited evidence available, the accused committed the offence charged” on all 39 counts against all six victims, some of whom attended court and welcomed the outcome as “closure”. Caine’s offending includes multiple counts of indecent assault of a child and unlawful carnal knowledge of a pupil, a form of sexual assault. McGuire found Caine had a tendency to have a particular state of mind, being a sexual interest in prepubescent and pubescent females, and to act on that in a particular way, including touching their breasts, forcing oral sex, digital penetration and sexual intercourse with girls for whom he was a swimming coach. “I find that none of the complainants consented to any of the sexual contact, and that the accused knew that none of them consented,” the judge said. Caine’s offending occurred in the pool sauna, gym, female toilets, his office, home and car. The court heard his victims had “genuine” hopes of competing in the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games. But after the coach’s abuse, one victim had disposed of her collection of sporting memorabilia and trophies. Another victim had received annual Christmas cards from Caine, and found them “to be a reminder of the accused’s previous threat for her to keep quiet”.

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Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 9

>>21507224 NSW Liberal MP Rory Amon charged with child sex offences; quits party, parliament - NSW Liberal MP Rory Amon has quit his party and his seat after he was charged by police with historic child sex offences, allegations he says he will deny in court. Mr Amon, the representative for the state electorate of Pittwater appeared before Magistrate Lisa Stapleton at Manly Local Court on Friday afternoon. The charges relate to an alleged sexual assault in Mona Vale in July 2017, in which Mr Amon allegedly assaulted a teenage boy who was known to him. Mr Amon was charged with five counts of sexual intercourse with a person over 10 and under 14 years, two charges of indecent assault of a person under 16 years, one charge of commit act of indecency with a person under 16 years and two charges of attempting sexual intercourse child with a child over 10 under 14. “Following extensive inquiries, a 35-year-old man was arrested at Manly Police Station about 6am today,” a NSW Police spokesperson said. “In March 2023, Strike Force NOORAL was established to investigate the incident.” The taskforce investigation began the same month Mr Amon was elected to parliament, he is the opposition assistant youth spokesperson. All ten alleged incidents took place between June 1 and late July in Mona Vale. The teenage boy, according to court documents, was 13 years old at the time of Mr Amon’s alleged sexual offences. Born Roderick Gilmore Amon, he joined the Northern Beaches Council in September 2017, meaning the alleged assault predates his political career by two months. Prior to local politics he worked as a family law solicitor with a specialty in domestic and family violence.

>>21520935 Daycare paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith pleads guilty to sexually abusing dozens of children in Brisbane and Italy - A former Queensland childcare worker has pleaded guilty to raping, sexually abusing and exploiting dozens of girls under his care. Ashley Paul Griffith was arraigned on more than 300 charges in the District Court in Brisbane today. The offences against around 60 children happened between 2003 and 2022 at early learning centres in Brisbane and Italy. Several victims and their families were in court, with some parents crying as the names of their children were read out. The parents of one of the young victims, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, described the "horrific" moment they were told their daughter had been sexually abused. They said they thought police were contacting them about another incident at the daycare centre. Instead, they were asked to identify their child from a photo. "We see people going in [to the daycare centre now], and I [think], this happened to my child in that room," the child's mother said. "It’s a room of horrors." The child's father said it was "hard to believe" how someone could "get away with something like that for so long". The couple said they decided to tell their daughter about what happened to her, but she's still very young and doesn't entirely understand. "As she grows up, we'll deal with that as it comes but it’s going to be something we deal with through our lives now," the child’s father said. "It was good that [he pleaded guilty] and we can move onto the next step now."

>>21521002 Video: Brisbane childcare rapist unseen for years in 'broken' system - The parents of one of dozens of young girls raped by a childcare worker say the system is broken and they can't fathom how he got away with prolific offending over years in a "room full of horrors". Ashley Paul Griffith, 46, today pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court to more than 300 child sex offences including 28 charges of rape, as well as ongoing sexual abuse and making child exploitation material. Griffith committed the crimes at childcare centres in multiple Brisbane suburbs over a span of more than 19 years. The parents of one of the victims, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, spoke outside court after Griffith spent more than two hours entering his pleas to each individual charge. "We certainly feel there's something broken in the system," the victim's father said. "How someone like that could get away with that for so long, it's hard to believe it's being run as effectively as it could be". The victim's mother said she wanted to stand outside the childcare centre where her daughter was attacked in order to warn other parents. "It happened to my child in that room. It's a room full of horrors," she said. The mother said her complaint about Griffith's behaviour in 2018 was not acted upon and she accused the centre of being run "as a business, not as a place that was looking after children".

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Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 10

>>21525868 ‘Never free this predator’: parents’ plea on pedophile childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith after pleading guilty to 306 child abuse charges - The parents of a little girl preyed upon by Australia’s worst alleged pedophile have been joined by a leading abuse advocate in calling for the former childcare worker to never be released after he pleaded guilty to more than 300 child abuse charges. Ashley Paul Griffith appeared in Brisbane’s District Court on Monday before a courtroom packed with families of young girls he abused over 15 years as he moved between Queensland, NSW and Italy. Griffith accepted 28 counts of rape against at least 12 children, 190 counts of unlawfully and indecently dealing with a child and 67 counts of making child exploitation material. He also pleaded guilty to 15 counts of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child, four counts of producing child abuse material outside of Australia, one count of distributing child abuse material outside of Australia, one count of using a carriage service for child pornography material and one count of possessing child exploitation material. A man and woman whose daughter was allegedly abused by Griffith said life in prison was not long enough for the man who had been so prolific in his abuse. “It’s a little bit disappointing that life is probably not as long as we’d like, especially if there’s any kind of parole element to that,” said the father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his child.

>>21530701 Queensland Police asked to reinvestigate failed complaints about pedophile Ashley Paul Griffith - The Queensland Police Minister has demanded a new internal investigation into officers’ handling of complaints about a childcare worker’s behaviour with young girls before he was unmasked as Australia’s worst pedophile. After Ashley Paul Griffith, 46, pleaded guilty to more than 300 charges of child exploitation on Monday, Labor government minister Mark Ryan ordered Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski to conduct another review of how two complaints made to officers in 2021 and ’22 were handled. An internal review was previously completed by police, which found the matters were appropriately investigated and the claims could not be substantiated. Mr Ryan said it was important nothing else could be learned. “The level of trauma he has inflicted upon so many is almost beyond comprehension,” Mr Ryan said. “Notwithstanding this matter having been previously reviewed, I have asked the commissioner if this matter could be examined again. If any improvements or learnings can be identified, then it is my expectation they should be implemented as soon as possible.” A former co-worker of Griffith, Yolanda Borucki, 60, alerted police in August 2021 to an incident involving the man and a child. However, investigators said there was insufficient evidence to lay charges. Within weeks, he returned to the centre before moving on to two other facilities in neighbouring northside suburbs in early 2022. A separate investigation was undertaken by Queensland Police in April 2022, but no details are known. In that time, he assaulted several other young girls before his arrest that August.

>>21547193 ‘He got me when I was young’: The brave evidence of Dick Caine’s victims - One of Sydney swimming coach Dick Caine’s victims was just 10 when she was first sexually abused by the man her parents had considered the “ants pants”. More than four decades later, when news of Caine’s arrest broke in 2022, the woman cried as she told her husband: “He got me when I was young.” Caine’s identity was covered by a non-publication order as six complainants gave evidence during his judge-alone special hearing from June to August in Downing Centre District Court. That veil of secrecy was lifted last week after Judge Paul McGuire found, on the limited evidence available, Caine had committed 39 offences of child sexual abuse in the 1970s and 1980s. Caine, 78, was deemed unfit to face a traditional trial due to health reasons. His lawyers in 2022 said he had terminal cancer, that he would probably not make Christmas 2023, and now claim he is in palliative care. His victims are outraged Caine did not front up to a single day of proceedings and is not in custody. This is what they told Caine’s hearing, according to the judge’s 132-page summary of evidence published after the verdicts.

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Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 11

>>21551369 Adam Britton:NT crocodile expert’s depraved childhood interest in animals- A one-time prominent crocodile expert outed as a depraved torturer and killer of dogs had only ever been sexually attracted to animals, court documents reveal. Adam Robert Corden Britton had sexually abused, brutalised and killed at least 39 dogs in less than two years before he was finally tracked down by authorities in April 2022. The former senior research associate at Charles Darwin University sourced these animals from sites including Gumtree, promising them a “good home” He regularly filmed himself carrying out acts a judge described as being of “sheer deviancy and brutality”, and uploaded them to bestiality sharing platforms under the pseudonyms ‘Monster’ and “Cerberus’. Britton, 53, was sentenced to 10 years and five months, with a non-parole period of six years, on August 10 after pleading guilty to 56 offences. In beginning his sentence remarks, Chief Justice Michael Grant warned they would include “graphic descriptions of what can only be described as grotesque depravity and cruelty towards animals”. He believed some of the facts he had to read to the court had the potential to “cause nervous shock” or other physiological reactions. Much of the detail included in the judgment are too grotesque and disturbing to report.

>>21551377 Adam Britton's lifelong lie:Crocodile expert who raped and tortured pet dogs was NEVER attracted to humans despite his 16-year marriage- A depraved zoologist who was jailed for a decade for filming the rape and torture of pet dogs was never attracted to humans, despite his 16-year marriage, and fantasised about animals from the age of six. Adam Robert Corden Britton, 53, was this month sentenced to 10 years and five months behind bars, with a non-parole period of six years, backdated to his April 2022 arrest. UK-born Britton, who moved to Darwin to pursue his zoology career, pleaded guilty to 63 charges of animal abuse, bestiality, and possession of child exploitation material. He sourced the dogs from Gumtree Australia over a two-year period for the sole purpose of torturing them to death on camera, but would tell the former owners their pets were enjoying their new home. The dogs were usually already dead by the time updates were given to their old owners. Most were horrifically abused and slowly murdered within a few days. On Thursday, sentencing remarks by NT Chief Justice Michael Grant were released by the Northern Territory Supreme Court. The 42-page document, obtained by Daily Mail Australia, gives a horrifying insight into Britton's privileged childhood which was marred with depraved sexual fantasies - such as sneaking into paddocks at the age of ten to hug horses and eat their hair. The judge said Britton's had an 'unusual' interest in animals from the age of six, when he would watch videos of animals defecating and urinating and fantasised about being immersed in cow faeces. The sentencing remarks also outlined Britton's lifelong struggle with the socio-sexual disorder, paraphelia and zoosadism. Britton was never attracted to humans and struggled to have proper relationships with women when he was a university student in Hong Kong and the UK. He had two female partners, but they were not sexual relationships.

>>21551386 SUPREME COURT OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY - R v ADAM BRITTON - Sentencing Remarks -The choice to know will ultimately be yours.- https://supremecourt.nt.gov.au/_resources/documents/sentencing-remarks/html?url=https://supremecourt.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/rtf_file/0010/1439632/Britton_08082024_22212255_sen_net.rtf

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Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 12

>>21556741 Ashley Griffith arrest: Don’t admit liability, church managers told as police traced sex abuse victims - Uniting Church managers were told by their internal insurance expert that they were not to admit any liability as police investigated the nation’s worst case of child abuse in daycare, involving the rape and sexual abuse of at least 91 girls in Queensland, NSW and Italy by childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith. A raft of new documents leaked to The Australian also raise more serious questions about how authorities handled a complaint against Griffith after he appeared to have been seen kissing a sleeping girl at a Brisbane childcare centre 10 months before his arrest. A local station’s police sergeant was initially assigned to the complaint, and a specialist child protection squad had still not contacted a church manager four days later to take up the investigation, it can now be revealed. After being cleared by police and the church over the complaint, Griffith went on to rape at least one more girl and sexually abused three others before his arrest in an unrelated investigation. He pleaded guilty in the District Court in Brisbane last Monday to 307 charges. Queensland police maintain an internal review cleared officers over their handling of the complaint and of another later one against Griffith, but there are calls for a broad independent inquiry into how he was able to abuse girls for almost two full decades.

>>21561874 Child rapist Ashley Griffith’s evil act after redundancy notice - The nation’s worst pedophile, Ashley Paul Griffith, singled out and raped a little girl at a Uniting Church daycare centre in Brisbane in the weeks after he was told he was being made redundant and four months after a complaint about him “kissing” a girl at the same centre was dismissed, court records indicate. His devastating abuse of the girl, a new victim he is not known to have previously assaulted, on his way out of the daycare centre can be revealed as calls grow for an independent and public inquiry into how he was able to abuse children for almost two full decades. On Monday, March 14, 2022, the church’s early learning operations manager Yolanda Borucki informed Griffith his position had been made redundant, according to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Nine days later, on March 23, 2022, Griffith submitted a letter of resignation from the centre, and on March 31 he emailed families announcing he had resigned. In this same period, he struck a new victim. Among the hundreds of shocking charges Griffith pleaded guilty to in Brisbane’s District Court last week, five related to the rape, abuse and recording of a girl between March 23 and April 1, 2022. The charges are listed as occurring in the same suburb as the Uniting Church childcare centre. He then went on to abuse at least three more girls at other Brisbane daycare centres before his arrest in an unrelated investigation, according to the charges he pleaded guilty to. It can also be revealed one of the most senior leaders of the Uniting Church in Queensland took just 43 minutes to approve Griffith’s redundancy, after he was earlier cleared of kissing a sleeping girl at the same centre. Reverend Heather den Houting was then the general secretary of the church and had been involved in managing a report from a co-worker that Griffith was seen on top of a little girl during nap time and that his “mouth was moving along her mouth” in October 2021. Both police and an internal church investigation found he had no case to answer in November 2021.

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Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 13

>>21575883 Western Bulldogs set to face second legal claim over historical sexual abuse - The Western Bulldogs are facing a second potentially devastating legal action over alleged abuse by a convicted pedophile who volunteered at the club. The alleged victim, now 51, claims he was abused by child predator Graeme Hobbs in 1987 after meeting him at Whitten Oval. Hobbs’ first victim, Adam Kneale, was awarded $5.9 million in November 2023, after the club stalwart had admitted abusing him, was jailed and the Bulldogs were found negligent in protecting him from harm. The landmark judgement was hailed as an “earthquake” in Australia’s legal system, with the sum dwarfing previous compensation payouts to abuse survivors. It was also the first successful claim against an AFL club. Kneale was aged 11 when the “jack of all trades” Hobbs first raped him at the ground in 1984. The Western Bulldogs have challenged the negligence verdict in the Kneale case, with the hearing scheduled to start in the Court of Appeal on Friday. But a second alleged victim - a schoolmate of Kneale – has now claimed in Supreme Court documents he too was befriended and abused by Hobbs at the club and off-site. He alleged Hobbs twice took him, when he was 14, from the club to an Essendon house where he was abused. On one occasion, he alleged he was forced to watch Hobbs rape Kneale, while another time he claimed he was asked to strip naked and Hobbs tried to rape him. Hobbs, who is now dead, was a club volunteer, fundraiser and under 19s training staff member. Rightside Legal partner Michael Magazanik, who represents Kneale and the alleged second victim, said both abuse survivors were committed to holding the club to account. “Both of my clients have lived with their shocking consequences of their abuse for decades,’’ Mr Magazanik said. “It has caused mental illness, torment and suffering. Hobbs and his pedophile friends were convicted and jailed but that doesn’t give their victims their lives back. “That’s why both my clients want justice from the Western Bulldogs and it’s why the jury (in the first case), six Victorians chosen at random, thought justice was required.’’

>>21582871 Video: Uniting Church set cops on Ashley Griffith abuse informer - The Uniting Church accused a whistleblowing manager of damaging its reputation and future profitability for going to the media about Australia’s worst pedophile, Ashley Paul Griffith, before pursuing a complaint against her with police. A leaked “show cause” notice sent to the church’s early learning operations manager, Yolanda Borucki, accuses her of likely causing “significant reputational damage” and “significant damage to ongoing profitability” for emailing confidential and sensitive information to a journalist at Nine Network’s A Current Affair. Eleven days after the notice, acting on a complaint from the church, police raided Ms Borucki’s home on Brisbane’s bayside, seized her phones and devices and charged her with computer hacking for allegedly using a restricted computer without the church’s consent. Ms Borucki, 60, was charged despite still being employed by the church when she allegedly ­accessed the ­information, and having possession of her work phone, computer and car and the ability to log into her emails. The grandmother allegedly used her work email and a work device to forward the ­material. Queensland police were declining to answer questions about past complaints against Griffith when Ms Borucki appeared on the national television program in August last year. She revealed that in October 2021 a co-worker at a Uniting Church childcare centre in Brisbane reported stumbling across Griffith leaning over a sleeping girl in an outdoor fort, “basically kissing her”. Police and the church cleared Griffith and dismissed the complaint. Griffith went on to rape another little girl from the same centre in his final week there after being told his position was being made redundant, court records indicate. Subsequently, he abused three more girls at other centres before his arrest in an unrelated police investigation in August 2022. The Uniting Church has said it is “deeply saddened and sorry that harm was done at one of our facilities”.

#37 - Part 119

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 14

>>21589845 Western Bulldogs fight multimillion-dollar payout to child sex abuse survivor, claim jury was ‘misled’ - The Western Bulldogs claim a jury that awarded a “startling” $5.9m to child sex abuse survivor Adam Kneale, assaulted for years at Whitten Oval by a club volunteer and pedophile, was “misled”. The footy club has demanded a jury verdict finding it was negligent for abuse committed by star fundraising volunteer Graeme ‘Chops’ Hobbs be thrown out, or the multimillion-dollar compensation payout to the predator’s victim be slashed. The pedophile, now dead, was jailed after admitting to abusing Mr Kneale for six years from the age of 11. During his civil trial in October 2023, Mr Kneale gave evidence he was sexually assaulted at the Bulldogs’ home-ground more than 40 times. The appeal fight is set to be closely watched by a second alleged victim who has launched fresh legal action against the club, also for abuse at the hands of Hobbs at Whitten Oval in the 1980s. In the Court of Appeal on Friday, the Bulldogs’ high profile barrister Bret Walker SC labelled the award - the highest amount handed to an abuse survivor in Australia - as “genuinely startling”. “It speaks for itself as to its excessiveness,” said the lawyer, who charges north of $25,000 a day. The Bulldogs were ordered by the jury to pay Mr Kneale $3.25m for pain and suffering alone, with Court of Appeal judge Justice David Beach stating he was “not aware” of any other cases where general damages were assessed at more than $1m. Barrister Sam Hay KC, for Mr Kneale, conceded “the award is high” but that it could be “indicative of the way the general public views the nature of this abuse”.

>>21648351 Victims warned WA’s worst serial sex predator could be released - Victims of WA’s worst serial sex predator Dennis John McKenna are reeling after being told the child abuser could be released from prison in two months. Department of Justice letters have been sent to a number of men preyed upon by McKenna, while they boarded as students at St Andrew’s Hostel in Katanning some time between 1975 and 1990. “I am writing to offer you the opportunity to discuss any concerns or queries you may have about future contact with an offender,” the letter reads. “The Prisoners Review Board is required to consider Mr McKenna for possible release on parole. I would like to speak with you regarding your thoughts on this matter. The offender’s date of parole eligibility is 17 November, 2024.” Those notified of the parole date can now make a written submission to the department’s Victim offender Mediation Unit. Since 1991, McKenna has been handed jail sentences on three occasions after police investigations highlighted more victims from his reign of terror as the hostel’s warden. When combined, McKenna was sentenced to 22 years behind bars for 65 offences against 29 boys. The most recent punishment came in 2013, when the now 79-year-old was convicted of a further 34 child sex crime offences. His systemic abuse at the Katanning facility, used to accommodate the children of farming families attending the town’s high school, resulted in a 2012 inquiry and report titled St Andrew’s Hostel: How the System and Society Failed our Children. But those who survived McKenna’s molestation never want to see him free again. “He’s a rapist, he’s a paedophile, and there’s no way he should be let out,” survivor Michael Hilder told Radio 6PR.

#37 - Part 120

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 15

>>21653844 Convicted pedophile, Olympic swim coach Dick Caine dead at 78 -Convicted pedophile Dick Caine, the former Sydney swimming coach found to have raped six students under his care, has died in hospital following a terminal cancer diagnosis. Caine, 78, was spared jail and deemed unfit to appear physically in court due to his poor health following his arrest in June 2022. His ongoing trial was kept under wraps by a gag order, prompted by fears among Caine’s legal representation he would attempt suicide if the details of the trial were widely reported. The order was lifted upon his conviction. He was found to have sexually abused six girls aged 10 to 16 in the 1970s through to the 1980s during his career as an Olympic and world champion swim coach at Carss Park swimming pool in Sydney’s south. All 39 charges brought against Caine were proven in a hearing before Judge Paul McGuire at the Downing Centre District Court between June and August this year. Caine’s next hearing remains listed for December 6, though a District Court representative said they anticipated the matter would be relisted in the wake of his death. His six victims were due to provide victim impact statements. He died on Wednesday morning, having reportedly survived past a prior prognosis anticipating he would be dead in the months following his 2022 arrest. In court, his wife Jennifer alleged he had lung and throat cancer for which he was in palliative care with “maybe six months” to live. Caine also suffered from dementia, with his defence arguing further public scrutiny placed him at risk of stroke and heart attack. He was released on bail following charges. In Caine’s judge-only trial, he was found to have raped his victims in the pool’s sauna, office and bathrooms, also sexually assaulting his victims at a hotel, in his car and at his home.

>>21711060 ‘It empowers others’: Former Australian under-19s captain speaks out on abuse allegation - A former juniors Australian captain who is suing Cricket Australia over a historical allegation of sexual abuse says he has come forward “to call out both those who take advantage of the vulnerable and the organisations who protect them”. Dean Reynolds led Australia on the 1985 under-19s tour to India and Sri Lanka, where he has alleged he was sexually touched by the coach Bob Bitmead. He filed a statement of claim in the Queensland Supreme Court in July that seeks damages of more than $4 million from CA. Bitmead has previously denied the allegation. CA has lodged its defence, denying all of Reynolds’ claims. CA’s defence denies that Bitmead abused Reynolds and then says: “The claim is excessive and has no proper regard to the evidence; and, any injury resulting from the subject incident (which is denied) has resolved.” CA’s defence also argues that “the nature and extent of any duty of care owed by the defendant (CA), or by Bitmead, which is not admitted, is a question of law to be determined by trial”. The case is set down for mediation on November 14. Now 57, Reynolds was interviewed as part of a 2022 investigation of the tour by the ABC, an episode that led him to reconsider his own experiences in 1985 and afterwards. “I am sharing my story now because I seek closure and feel it is important to demonstrate bravery in speaking out against authority figures who have acted wrongly,” Reynolds told this masthead. “I know I am not the first or the last, but it’s important to call out both those who take advantage of the vulnerable and the organisations who protect them, either directly or by choosing to look the other way.”

#37 - Part 121

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 16

>>21718411 Former Marist College student preparing to sue over alleged canings and other corporal punishments in 1970s - A former Canberra Marist College student is preparing to sue over the canings and other corporal punishments he allegedly received as a young student in the early 1970s. The case against the Trustees of the Marist Brothers has been lodged with the ACT Supreme Court. In his statement of claim, the now 67-year-old described extraordinary incidents including being repeatedly struck on the hand with a metal ruler, caned on his hands until the cane broke, and caned on the back of the legs. He also alleged one teacher instructed him to hold out his hand while the teacher stood on the edge of a podium, raised the cane above his head and leapt off with all his weight to strike the student's hand. The man, who was first enrolled at the school as a 12-year-old and attended from 1970 to 1972, is being represented by Shine Lawyers. His statement of claim also alleges a sexual assault after a school play at the Canberra Theatre when he said he was left alone in a room with a man he did not know. In their submissions, the Trustees of the Marist Brothers questioned that allegation, saying there was no record of the school holding a production at the Canberra Theatre at the time. The man's lawyers have not mentioned any figures but said they were claiming negligence, saying the operators of the school owed the boy a duty of care to avoid the risks of harm. The claim suggests those running the school should have had a system for students to report misconduct, should have removed abusive teachers and staff from the school, and put a mandatory reporting system in place as well as ensuring students were not put in a position where they would be assaulted or be in fear of assault.

>>21718431 Australian Bishop Christopher Saunders pleads ‘not guilty’ to abuse charges - Bishop Christopher Saunders appeared in Australian court Monday to enter a plea of not guilty to 28 criminal charges, including allegations of sexual assault and indecent dealings with a minor. The former bishop of the Diocese of Broome stands accused of a long slate of alleged crimes of grooming and abusing young Aboriginal men over a period of eight years, beginning in 2008. Saunders, 74, confirmed to the court that he understood the charges and entered a plea of not guilty on all counts. He is due back in court for the next hearing in the case in January, having last appeared in June as his lawyer argued against a petition to change the bishop’s bail conditions. The bishop also faces several separate firearms charges, including illegal possession of a weapon. He did not enter a plea on those charges during the Sept. 30 hearing. Saunders was arrested in February of this year, following a January police raid on his former residence in the Diocese of Broome, carried out by Child Abuse Squad detectives. The bishop led the Diocese of Broome in Western Australia until 2021, when he resigned citing “ill health” amid allegations of sexual misconduct and grooming against young Aboriginal men. The bishop’s resignation followed a decision to step back from governance of the diocese in 2020, after accusations surfaced that he had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of Church funds on gifts for vulnerable young men, including cash, phones, alcohol, and travel. The police investigation which led to the raid and the bishop’s arrest came after Church authorities handed over a 200-page investigation conducted into Saunders alleged misconduct, ordered by the Vatican in 2022, after a separate police investigation had been closed the previous year due to lack of evidence. In a statement at the time of Saunders’ arrest, Australian bishops’ conference president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of Perth said that “It is right and proper, and indeed necessary, that all allegations be thoroughly investigated,” and promised that the Church would “cooperate fully with police and take every necessary step to avoid any actions which may compromise the integrity and autonomy of the police investigation.” Saunders now faces 28 criminal charges related to alleged sexual abuse, including two counts of rape and 14 counts of unlawful and indecent assault related to alleged victimization of young Aboriginal men in towns throughout the diocese between 2008 and 2016.

#37 - Part 122

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 17

>>21739558 Beaumaris Primary School sexual abuse survivor reaches record $8 million settlement with Victorian government - A survivor of "shocking" sexual abuse at a Melbourne primary school has received what his lawyer has called "the biggest publicly known payment to an abuse survivor in Australia" in an extraordinary $8 million settlement with the Victorian Education Department. The man, who was sexually abused by notorious paedophile Darrell Ray, was among a generation of students who suffered abuse in the 1960s and 70s at Beaumaris Primary School in bayside Melbourne. The man's lawyer, Michael Magazanik of Rightside Legal, said his client had been fighting for justice for most of his adult life and settled the claim a week before it was set to reach Victoria's Supreme Court. "He's been on this path for decades, first pushing for a criminal prosecution for lots of Ray's victims, and then his own fight for proper compensation," Mr Magazanik said. "Of course, it's been a rocky road for him and life hasn't been easy because he's been dealing with entrenched damage. Now he's got what he deserves and we're proud to have fought for him. It's the biggest publicly-known payment to an abuse survivor in Australia. It represents the shocking damage the abuse did and the cost of starting to repair my client's life, starting to put him back in the position he might have been in had the school kept him safe." Speaking to ABC Investigations, the man said he hoped his legal victory would inspire survivors who have lost faith in the justice system. "I'd strongly recommend that victims of sexual abuse get themselves a lawyer and not go down the National Redress path," the man said. "That's the main thing I'd want to get across to other survivors. Trust your lawyer and get what you deserve, not what the government wants to give you. For me, personally, an apology was never going to give me any closure. I was offered twice and said no. Other people might get closure from an apology, but I won't. And the money does not give me closure either - I will never get closure. I wouldn't still be here were it not for finding my faith. And that's not for everyone either. But I had to become a Christian to even have a remote chance of surviving and finding a better way of life."

>>21739573 Video: British YouTuber and rapper Yung Filly extradited to Perth to face allegations of rape - He is accused of assaulting a woman in a hotel room on September 28th 2024. In 2021 Yung Filly was also accused of meeting and texting 17 year old girls when he was 26 and recently he was also seen biting women outside clubs (Allegedly). UPDATE: Yung Filly has been granted bail of $122,000, with conditions that require him to stay in Western Australia until his court appearance in December. He must also report to the police three times a week.

>>21755683

TY BAKER.

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Man arrested with weapons at Donald Trump rally identified as Vem Miller as local police say he posed as a journalist

Georgie Hewson - 14 October 2024

A man with a shotgun, a loaded handgun, ammunition, fake licences and fake passports in his vehicle was arrested at a security checkpoint outside a rally for Donald Trump in California, according to local police.

The arrest took place on Saturday, local time.

The suspect, identified as Vem Miller, a resident of Las Vegas, was driving a black SUV that was stopped by deputies assigned to the rally in Coachella, east of Los Angeles, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

The 49-year-old was arrested on suspicion of possessing a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine, the department said.

He was eventually released on bail and will appear in court over the state firearms charges at a later date.

The man gave all indication he belonged there and was allowed in to the event as a member of the press, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told reporters.

"We know he claimed to be a journalist, and he claimed to have VIP status to the event that got him into the perimeter, and when that investigation was continued by the deputy, that didn't necessarily materialise," Sheriff Bianco said.

"So other than his words that he was a journalist … I can't tell you that he gave us a document and we said that was fake."

Media members, as well as VIP ticket holders, were routed through a number of intersections manned by state and local law enforcement officers before arriving at a large, grassy area where drivers were asked to open hoods and trunks, and each vehicle was searched by a canine officer.

Other general ticket holders were directed to a site roughly 5 kilometres away from the rally, where they were boarded onto buses and driven to the site.

Sheriff Bianco said he believed his deputies "probably prevented a third assassination attempt" by taking the man into custody.

"If you're asking me right now, I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt," he said.

"If we are that politically lost that we have lost sight of common sense, of reality, and for that reason that we can't say, 'Holy crap, what did he show up with all of that stuff for, and loaded guns?' and I'm going to be accused of being dramatic?

"Then we have a serious problem in this country."

He also praised the work of local deputies conducting checks on the outer perimeter of the rally.

"Thank God, and by an act of really what we did in the week leading up to keeping that place secure, I certainly wouldn't want to be saying after the fact that I wish we would have done more to prevent that shooting," he said.

The sheriff declined to speculate about the suspect's motives or frame of mind.

"We know we prevented something bad from happening, and it was irrelevant what that bad was going to be," he said.

"There is absolutely no way that any of us are going to truly know what was in his head."

Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrest.

The sheriff said further investigations will be conducted by the FBI and Secret Service.

The Secret Service said that it was aware of the arrest and that neither Trump nor rally attendees had not been in any danger during the incident.

"While no federal arrest has been made at this time, the investigation is ongoing," the organisation tasked with protecting presidents and presidential candidates said in a joint statement with the FBI and the US Attorney's office.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-14/trump-rally-man-arrested-weapons-california-riverside-county/104468236

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qUl_pDTJig

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Labor MP Peter Khalil’s office vandalised with Hamas-linked symbol

Natassia Chrysanthos - October 14, 2024

Labor MP Peter Khalil’s office has been spray-painted with a Hamas-linked inverted red triangle and the slogan “glory to the martyrs” in the latest act of vandalism to target politicians’ offices over the war in the Middle East.

The words “land back” were also painted outside Khalil’s inner Melbourne office, which was splashed with red paint, and vandals used extinguishers and propellants to pour an unknown foul-smelling liquid through a hole they had drilled in a door in the early hours of Monday morning.

The office was a crime scene on Monday as police and a hazardous materials team investigated.

Khalil, who was recently appointed the government’s special envoy for social cohesion, said he was dismayed.

“I have always fully supported the right to peaceful protest. This is not protest. This is vandalism. This is defacing property. Worse, this is using violent symbolic material or actions that are harmful to others … in their place of work. It is completely unacceptable and it needs to be called out,” he said.

“Everyone has a right to express their ideological and political views. But you cannot say it is acceptable to express them through intimidation, physical harassment or actions that put people in harm’s way.”

He said the inverted red triangle symbol – which has become associated with pro-Palestinian activism but is also used to mark kill targets in Hamas’ social media content – had a connotation that was “disturbing and concerning”, while the stench was “unbearable and clearly a biohazard of some sort”.

Khalil, whose inner-north Melbourne seat of Wills has been a focus of pro-Palestinian activism and is a target of the Greens at the upcoming election, said he was concerned the people who had targeted his staff and office were unable to articulate their positions in a rational and respectful way.

“The vast majority are able to engage peacefully without a problem. Clearly, a small minority won’t, and they need to be condemned.”

A spokeswoman from Khalil’s office said staff had arrived at work about 8.45am on Monday to find the office had been vandalised.

“Alongside the vandalism shown in photos, a hole had been drilled into the back door and a red [or] pink substance pumped into the office,” she said.

“Staff reported an overwhelming stench on opening the door, like an abattoir.”

She said the office was closed to the public as police investigated, and staff would not be on site.

Coalition senator James Paterson said the targeting of Khalil’s office was unacceptable.

“The perpetrators of this intimidating and dangerous behaviour must feel the full force of the law,” he said.

Greens leader Adam Bandt said the Greens condemned the vandalism.

“Protests must always be peaceful and non-violent. Everyone should feel safe at work, and we wish Peter Khalil and his team well after this vandalism overnight,” he said.

Germany banned the inverted red triangle in July because of its use by Hamas and its supporters to mark enemy targets in videos and graffiti.

Since the terrorist group’s attacks on Israel on October 7 last year, the triangle has morphed into an online symbol shared by Hamas sympathisers as well as pro-Palestinian activists, including some unaware of its origins. It has been displayed in pro-Palestine protests in Melbourne, including in Khalil’s seat.

Monday’s vandalism is the latest in a series of attacks on MPs’ offices this year. In July, two teenagers aged 17 and 18 were charged with burglary and criminal damage after Labor MP Josh Burns’ Melbourne office was targeted.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at the time it was a troubling escalation of radical pro-Palestinian activism in Australia.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-mp-s-office-vandalised-with-hamas-linked-symbol-20241014-p5ki3e.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_B5fN3KeJM

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Rivas first came to Australia in 1978. In Chile, she worked as a secretary at the Simón Bolívar Centre, a secretive compound on the outskirts of the capital later discovered to be the Dina’s interrogation, torture and extermination site. She has insisted her role was administrative and she knew nothing of the crimes that occurred at her place of work.

When she travelled to Chile to visit family in 2006, she was arrested and questioned. She was held in custody for three months and released on bail under strict conditions, including a prohibition on leaving on the country.

But in 2007, while Rivas was living in Chile on bail, a man called Jorgelino Vergara was arrested and charged with Diaz’s murder. In 2010, he gave testimony that directly alleged Rivas participated in the torture of prisoners at the Simón Bolívar Centre.

A Chilean police report specifically names her as a brigade member involved in the commission of “forced entries, detention, interrogations and application of torture”.

Metal bunk beds were rigged with electrical current and detainees repeatedly shocked all over their bodies, according to the police report, which also detailed they were injected with unknown substances or “suffocated by asphyxiating them with plastic bags”.

Chile’s interior ministry wrote in court documents: “It is important to emphasise the cruelty of the crimes committed.”

Rivas has expressly denied these allegations and any involvement in torture, and she has not been convicted of any crime.

Vergara’s testimony ultimately led to the conviction of more than 70 Dina agents and officials of the Pinochet regime. The same year he agreed to give evidence against the Dina, Rivas escaped over Chile’s land border into Argentina and flew back to Australia.

In a 2013 SBS interview, she said she had worked at the Simón Bolívar Center, but insisted she was not involved in interrogating detainees.

“Not guilty. Not guilty. If I … look, I never had the opportunity to be where the detainees were. Never, understand? All my work was as a secretary or security. Nothing more.”

In the same interview, she defended the use of violence against opponents of the regime. “Everyone knew they had to do that to the people in order to break them because communists would not talk. It was necessary.”

Rivas said she did not regret working for the Dina.

“For me it was a job. It was a chance to survive. Understand?”

No hearing date has been set for the federal court application to be heard.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/oct/14/adriana-rivas-former-bondi-nanny-chile-pinochet-allegations-extradition-appeal-ntwnfb

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuHQx1Ank38

The Sydney airport arrest that unravelled a global crime ring and caught a ‘demon’

Clare Sibthorpe - October 15, 2024

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The arrest of an Australian man at Sydney Airport has led to the unravelling of a global child abuse ring and the capture of its alleged leader, dubbed the “demon”.

Queensland father Gary Richmond-Jones was jailed for two years in August for the planned abuse of a 12-year-old girl while on holiday in the Philippines with his wife and children.

In a July investigation into Australia’s contribution to the insidious online child abuse trade, of which the Philippines is the epicentre, the Herald reported that a stranger had contacted Richmond-Jones on X advertising child abuse material and leaving a number.

While in Manila with his family in 2022, the former car salesman from Mackay downloaded the encrypted messaging app Telegram to contact that person.

He said he was interested in “real” underage Filipino girls, “took his pick” from sexual photos of several children and asked “what price” for a range of “services” which equated to various forms of sexual abuse.

After organising a meeting spot, he decided not to go through with the abuse and stopped responding to the stranger. He later told a Sydney court he had an eleventh-hour realisation that “child abuse is never okay”.

But his incriminating conversations, including the child abuse material, remained on his phone and were discovered by Border Force officials upon his return to Australia.

The Australian Federal Police arrested him, sparking a Philippine National Police (PNP) investigation that discovered the alleged puppet master of the international paedophile syndicate, which sold child abuse videos to foreigners for as little as $13.

Authorities say that man was Teddy Jay Mojeca Mejia, a Filipino fugitive who’d been hiding in Dubai since 2021.

Thanks to the AFP’s arrest of Richmond-Jones and the intelligence it passed on to the PNP, Mejia was last month extradited to Manila and charged with offences relating to the alleged abuse of 111 children.

The 32-year-old is accused of luring vulnerable children aged between nine and 11 into making sexual videos, which he sold online to at least 19 people from countries including Australia.

When it emerged Mejia was secretly living in the United Arab Emirates, the PNP raised an international Interpol red-notice warrant.

The AFP’s Manila team then worked with its liaison officers in Dubai to help facilitate the extradition process between the Philippines and UAE.

Video published online by local news outlets showed Mejia being marched down a hallway at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport by a large group of police officers, his face hidden with a black hoodie and mask.

He was forced to stand in front of journalists during a press conference in which Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos called him a “demon” who preyed on vulnerable children who spent a lot of time online.

Abalos alleged Mejia would “scare” children into complying with his sick demands by photoshopping their faces onto naked bodies and threatening to disseminate the material.

“Some of the victims, he would rape and film the rape and sell the video,” Abalos alleged in a translated version of the press conference.

“It will be recorded and will be sold until the children become his slaves. This is how bad this man is.”

(continued)

>>21761808

Penny Wong forced to re-start speech multiple times as protesters criticise Gaza response

Evelyn Manfield - 16 October 2024

Protesters angry with the Australian government for not sanctioning Israel for its deadly strikes in Gaza and Lebanon have repeatedly disrupted a speech by Foreign Minister Penny Wong at the University of Tasmania on Tuesday night.

The minister was giving an address about international relations and policy making – which included reflections on the dangers aid workers faced in Gaza, as well as her hope for a two-state solution – when interruptions caused her to repeatedly stop her speech and leave the stage as audience members yelled at her.

During the approximately 45-minute-long speech, more than 10 interjections were made, with calls for the government to sanction Israel, plus criticism of the government's previous decision to pause funding to aid agency UNRWA.

Senator Wong initially responded by saying she had heard the concern.

"I'd say to you, we are a democracy and everyone's voice matters and I understand this is a very distressing [sic], but I don't actually believe, and I have never believed, that we gain anything by shouting each other down," she said.

As the interjections continued, and an official from the university tried to bring the audience to order, Senator Wong appeared frustrated as she made multiple attempts to return to the stage and continue her speech.

"Part of what I'm doing in this speech, to anybody else who wishes to speak but not listen, is actually try to lay out some of what we are doing in relation to what is happening in Gaza and what we are doing in relation to Lebanon," she said.

"So, it's disappointing that people don't actually want to hear some of the facts about what the government is seeking to do in this situation."

Despite interjectors being told to leave the venue, the remarks continued, with audience members expressing concern for loved ones in Lebanon.

"Our friends and family are in a total state of utter fear," one audience member called out.

"Please listen to the people who give you the power to do your job – that's what you are, you are our representative," one person could be heard saying.

"Do you want to hear what I have to say? Or do you want to just shout at me?" Senator Wong responded.

Outside the event in Hobart, dozens of protesters also gathered, chanting and holding signs criticising Senator Wong and the Australian government.

The protest follows repeated anger from the community towards government figures over Australia's response to the war in Gaza, including vandalism of electorate offices, such as Labor MP Peter Khalil, whose Melbourne office was sprayed with red paint and doused in an unknown substance in recent days.

Senator Wong on Wednesday described the protesters' conduct as disrespectful.

"I don't think we gain anything by being disrespectful to one another," she told ABC Radio Hobart.

"Some of the things that were being said and shouted were not true.

"One example is being told to stop bombarding Lebanon… we are calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon."

The ABC contacted the University of Tasmania, which has not provided comment.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-15/penny-wong-speech-shouted-down-by-pro-palestinian-protesters/104477114

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZfng1aaPvM