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Child Abuse Royal Commission's key findings on Cardinal George Pell

The unredacted pages of the child abuse royal commission's reports reveal Cardinal George Pell turned a blind eye to paedophile priests, including Australia's worst paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, and was "conscious" of the abuse nearly 50 years ago.

Despite his claims that he was unaware of sexual abuse allegations, the commission found Cardinal Pell should have known and would have known that children were being abused.

However, the commission cast serious doubt about a key allegation against Pell; that he attempted to bribe David Ridsdale to "keep quiet" about his uncle's abuse.

Here are the key findings on Cardinal Pell's conduct:

'Implausible' he was deceived by senior Catholic figures

The commission rejected Cardinal Pell's evidence that he was deceived by Catholic Church officials in "a world of crimes and cover-ups" about Australia's worst paedophile priest, Gerald Ridsdale, and Melbourne parish priest Peter Searson.

The commission rejected Cardinal Pell's claim that Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns lied to him in a 1982 meeting about the true reason for Ridsdale's removal from the Victorian rural parish of Mortlake.

"Cardinal Pell's evidence that 'paedophilia was not mentioned' and that the 'true' reason was not given is not accepted," the commission said.

"It is implausible … that Bishop Mulkearns did not inform those at the meeting of at least complaints of sexual abuse of children having been made."

Pell knew about abuse in early '70s, sought to avoid 'gossip'

By 1973, Cardinal Pell was aware that fellow Ballarat priest Gerald Ridsdale was taking boys on overnight camps. He was "not only conscious of child sexual abuse by clergy" but he had "considered measures of avoiding situations which might provoke gossip about it", the commission said.

Pell failed to report Father Searson

The commission found Cardinal Pell should have advised senior Catholic authorities to remove paedophile priest Father Peter Searson – an "unstable and disturbed individual" – in 1989.

"We found that he should have advised the archbishop to remove Father Searson and he did not do so," the commission said.

Pell dismissed Dowlan complaint

The royal commission accepted the evidence of Timothy Green that in 1974 he tried to bring concerns about paedophile Brother Edward "Ted" Dowlan to Cardinal Pell and was met with resistance. The commission found Cardinal Pell said words to the effect of, "Don’t be ridiculous," and walked away.

Doubt over bribery allegation

The commission did not uphold the most serious allegation against Cardinal Pell; that he attempted to bribe David Ridsdale to stop him complaining to police about abuse he suffered at the hands of his uncle.

"It is more likely that Mr Ridsdale misinterpreted an offer by Bishop Pell to assist as something more sinister," it found.

Pell falsely accused in case of mistaken identity

Cardinal Pell was falsely accused of dismissing some complaints by otherwise honest witnesses in apparent cases of mistaken identity, the commission found.

"While we accept that [one boy] genuinely believes he spoke to Father Pell, we are not satisfied he did. We do not know the identity of the priest he did speak to," it said.

Pell did not report Fitzgerald's conduct

Cardinal Pell, who in the mid-1970s was an assistant priest at Ballarat East, told the royal commission it was "quite common knowledge" that Christian Brother Leo Fitzgerald used to take young boys swimming naked.

The cardinal did not inform his superiors or authorities about the behaviour, but the commission found it was "not unreasonable" for priests to believe it was not their responsibility to inform the Christian Brothers.

The Ellis case

Cardinal Pell sought to "vigorously defend" the church against civil lawsuits in order to discourage survivors of abuse from seeking compensation, the commission found. Cardinal Pell decided to fight a sexual abuse claim brought against the church by John Ellis because the alleged survivor was seeking what he believed were excessive damages.

"[A] reason [for Cardinal Pell's decision to fight the case] was to discourage other prospective plaintiffs from litigating claims of child sexual abuse against the Catholic Church," the commission said.

The unredacted commission findings were released on Thursday after the High Court last month overturned Cardinal Pell's child abuse convictions.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/royal-commission-s-key-findings-on-pell-20200507-p54qs7.html

>>9062596

Pell pushes back on royal commission report

Cardinal George Pell has refused to accept a royal commission's findings about his knowledge of paedophiles within the Catholic Church and failure to protect children under his care, saying they are not supported by evidence.

Previously unpublished findings by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse implicate Australia’s most senior Catholic cleric in the culture of cover-up that allowed notorious predators such as Gerald Ridsdale, Edward Dowlan and Peter Searson to abuse children over three decades.

The royal commission found Cardinal Pell knew by 1982 of complaints against Ridsdale and perhaps as early as 1977, about 16 years before he was first charged by police. Ridsdale, one of the nation’s most prolific paedophiles, is still being brought to justice and will be sentenced next week for further crimes against children.

The royal commission described as "implausible" Cardinal Pell’s explanation that he was deceived about Ridsdale by Ronald Mulkearns, a former bishop of Ballarat who, when confronted by complaints against Ridsdale, moved him from parish to parish to avoid scandal.

The explanation by Cardinal Pell, a former archbishop of Melbourne, about why, a decade later, he did not do more to protect children from Searson at a small Catholic school in the suburb of Doveton was similarly dismissed by the royal commission.

The former senior Vatican figure, who testified before the royal commission in 2016 from Rome, said he was "surprised by some of the views of the royal commission" and "especially surprised" about the findings about his knowledge of Ridsdale.

"These views are not supported by the evidence," he said.

In response to the release of the commission's findings, Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli on Thursday issued an unreserved apology for his Archdiocese’s failure to care for and protect young and vulnerable people.

"While the passage of time can never obscure the systematic failure of leadership, process and culture of that period, the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne has acted upon the recommendations of the royal commission," the Archbishop said.

"Child safety and care is not a project with an end date. It requires life-long vigilance."

One of Ridsdale’s victims told The Age the findings would prompt more civil actions against the church. "It’s devastating to read that it all could have been prevented and it wasn’t," he said.

Chrissie Foster, an advocate for sexual assault victims whose two daughters were raped by a parish priest, said the findings about Cardinal Pell "fits in with what victims and family members have said all these years".

Premier Daniel Andrews urged "people of faith" to face the facts in the royal commission findings.

The royal commission found that in November 1989, when Cardinal Pell was an auxiliary bishop in the Melbourne Archdiocese, he received a delegation of teachers from the Doveton school, who raised concerns about Father Searson.

They complained that Searson, a sadistic figure previously accused of raping a young woman, had threatened people with a gun, engaged in "sexualised conduct" towards children and cruelly killed a cat, in view of children, in the school playground.

Serious and credible complaints about Searson had also been ignored by Frank Little, the man Cardinal Pell later replaced as archbishop of Melbourne, commissioners found.

Cardinal Pell’s testimony – that teachers put the allegations in a "non specific way" and their veracity was played down by a senior administrator of the school – was rejected by the royal commission, which found Cardinal Pell should have taken decisive action to have Searson removed from the school and the church.

The royal commission noted Searson went on to repeatedly rape an altar boy at the Doveton presbytery for years after the delegation of teachers met Cardinal Pell. This, said the royal commission, was "the tragic consequences of inaction".

"It was later put to Cardinal Pell that his evidence that he was deceived on two occasions was an extraordinary position. He said: ‘Counsel, this was an extraordinary world, a world of crimes and cover-ups, and people did not want the status quo to be disturbed.’

"We are satisfied that, on the basis of the matters known to Bishop Pell on his own evidence … he ought reasonably to have concluded that action needed to be taken in relation to Father Searson."

Searson died without being charged of child sex abuse.

(continued)

https://www.smh.com.au/national/pell-pushes-back-on-royal-commission-report-20200507-p54qwz.html

>>9062596

STATEMENT FROM CARDINAL GEORGE PELL

7 May 2020

Cardinal Pell said he was surprised by some of the views of the Royal Commission about his actions . These views are not supported by evidence.

He is especially surprised by the statements in the report about the earlier transfers of Gerald Ridsdale discussed by the Ballarat Diocesan Consultors in 1977 and 82.

The Consultors who gave evidence on the meetings in 1977 and 1982 either said they did not learn of Ridsdale’s offending against children until much later or they had no recollection of what was discussed. None said they were made aware of Ridsdale’s offending at these meetings.

The then Fr Pell left the Diocese of Ballarat and therefore his position as a consultor at the end of 1984.

As an Auxiliary Bishop in Melbourne 1987-96, Bishop Pell met with a delegation from Doveton Parish in 1989 which did not mention sexual assaults and did not ask for Searson’s removal.

Appointed Archbishop of Melbourne on 16 August 1996, Archbishop Pell placed Fr Searson on administrative leave in March 1997 and removed him from the parish on 15 May 1997.

ENDS

https://cathnews.com/media-releases/2130-200507-statement-from-cardinal-george-pell/file

—

STATEMENT

Most Rev Peter A Comensoli

Archbishop of Melbourne

07 May 2020

It is good that all the material from Case 35 of the Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has now been made fully available. There was never any question that the redacted information should remain closed to the public.

I again offer my unreserved apology for the failure of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne to responsibly care for and protect our young people and vulnerable adults.

I wish also to commend the work of all involved in the Royal Commission, particularly the survivors who took part, and for those many voices they represented. The Royal Commission was extremely difficult and painful and has been a critical catalyst for important and necessary change.

While the passage of time can never obscure the systemic failings of leadership, process and culture of that period, the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne has acted upon the recommendations of the Royal Commission. Much has changed as a result.

Rigorous policies, procedures and practices to ensure safety for children and young people are now in place, and principally regulated through the Commission for Children and Young People. New governance structures for Catholic education in relation to Parish Priests as employers has also been announced, and is intended to be implemented by 1 Jan 2021.

Child safety and care is not a project with an end date. It requires life-long vigilance. My commitment, and that of our leadership in the Archdiocese, is to listen attentively and honestly to those who have experienced abuse, and to find pathways of justice and healing for them.

As the current Archbishop of Melbourne, I now have the responsibility to consider the details of the material released today, and to determine what further steps may need to be addressed as a result.

https://cathnews.com/media-releases/2129-200507-melbourne-archdiocese-statement-from-most-rev-peter-a-comensoli-archbishop-of-melbourne/file

>>9062596

Cardinal George Pell: Victoria police to assess unredacted royal commission findings

Solicitor who acted for victims at inquiry says police must investigate findings that Pell knew priests were abusing children but failed to act

Victoria police will receive a copy of the unredacted child abuse royal commission report findings relating to Cardinal George Pell.

“We will then undertake an assessment of those findings,” a spokeswoman told Guardian Australia. “At this time it would not be appropriate to comment further about any possible action.”

The comments follow the publication of previously redacted parts of the child sexual abuse royal commission’s final report after its five-year inquiry into abuse within institutions, including churches. The findings regarding Pell were not released with the rest of the commission’s final report in 2017 due to legal action against the cardinal and fears the report would prejudice a jury. Pell was acquitted in April of child sexual abuse charges and released from jail, clearing the way for the report to be made public.

The commission found that Pell was aware of children being sexually abused within the Archdiocese of Ballarat by the notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, and it was “implausible” that other senior church figures had not told Pell abuse was occurring.

A solicitor who represented victims during the inquiry, Peter O’Brien, said police must investigate the royal commission findings that Pell knew priests were abusing children but failed to act appropriately to stop them.

“At the very least there must be a criminal investigation,” he said. “The findings are extremely damning and suggest criminal, not only immoral, misconduct.”

To date, no one has been convicted in Australia for the crime of concealment of child sexual abuse. New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory have concealment-related offences but they are difficult to prosecute.

In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, Pell said he was “surprised by some of the views of the royal commission about his actions”.

“These views are not supported by evidence,” Pell said. He maintained that he did not know of Ridsdale’s abusing children at the time or that this was the reason for him being moved between parishes. He also said a meeting he had with a delegation from Doveton parish in 1989 about Father Peter Searson did not mention sexual assaults, nor did the delegation ask Pell to remove Searson.

However, Pell confirmed when he gave evidence before the royal commission he was handed a list of incidents and grievances about Searson at the meeting, which included reports Searson had abused animals in front of children and was using children’s toilets. But Pell told the commission this was not enough information for him to act.

Shine Lawyers’ national practice leader, Lisa Flynn, who represents the father of Pell’s alleged victim, now deceased, said Pell did not deserve his cardinal title.

“In my view, his position as Australia’s highest-ranking representative in the Catholic church should be reviewed based on his choice to protect paedophiles over innocent children, at the time the abuse occurred,” she said.

“Pell’s preference to protect paedophiles over the safety of children is deplorable. There are no excuses for someone who conceals this disgusting behaviour towards innocent, young children.”

Pell has always maintained his innocence in response to allegations against him, and was acquitted of his convictions by the full bench of seven judges of the high court in April. He has previously said he had been made a scapegoat for the Catholic church’s failures.

Pell told Sky News in April: “I’m the scapegoat that’s copped most of this.” He said his actions setting up the Melbourne Response – the scheme established by the Archdiocese of Melbourne in 1996 to respond to allegations of sexual abuse within the church – had not been adequately recognised and showed he took abuse allegations seriously.

Dr Cathy Kezelman is president of the Blue Knot Foundation, which provides specialist phone counselling to survivors of abuse. She said the royal commission’s findings were not the result of a “witch hunt” but were “the considered findings of a thorough highly professional Royal Commission examining the facts”.

“The commission found it implausible that Cardinal Pell was not aware of child sexual abuse activity,” she said. “It identified that not only was he aware that children were being abused, but that he failed to act – not once but on numerous occasions.

(continued)

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/07/victoria-police-to-assess-unredacted-george-pell-royal-commission-report-findings

Dassi Erlich Tweet

Despite Covid-19, decision day will still happen @ court this month!

Court has moved from 21 to 26 May.

The day we've been anticipating since we gave our police statements 2011. The only judgement we want - Malka Leifer is fit to stand extradition trial! Wish we could be there!

https://twitter.com/dassi_erlich/status/1258548882666958849

George Papadopoulos Tweet

Mifsud and Alexander Downer are the next to be exposed. It will be glorious.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1258483377381847040

>>9076710

I was consulting on multi billion dollar pipeline deals between Israel-Egypt-Greece-Cyprus and clearly was illegally spied on. Now that this was confirmed, the meetings with Downer, Mifsud, Turk, Halper are much more critical. ALL probed me on ties to Israel. This is damning

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1258153647851991040

—

Let this breaking news by @kyledcheney settle in. The Obama administration was spying on me for my commercial energy work in Israel, Cyprus and Egypt and, in the process, exposed that they used foreign governments like Italy, U.K. Australia to do so. This is going to get good!

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1258155876528951298

—

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney

NEW: DOJ has released a less-redacted version of Mueller's scope memo, confirming the details of the probes it was pursuing against Manafort, Flynn, @GeorgePapa19, Page. @dlippman with details:

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1258150440140750848

—

Replying to @kyledcheney, @GeorgePapa19 and @dlippman

Page 2 redacted vs. unredacted

https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1258150440140750848

Turnbull delivers roasting on climate, calls COVID-19 an 'opportunity'

London | Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has lambasted the government of his successor Scott Morrison for populism, denialism and out-of-date thinking on global warming, saying the COVID-19 pandemic should be a springboard to tackle climate change.

He also offered in-principle backing to carbon border taxes, calling them "inevitable". He said the European Union could impose such tariffs on high-intensity emitters like Australia, possibly using the Australia-EU free-trade deal talks to pressure Canberra.

Speaking late Thursday (AEST) to the British think tank Policy Exchange, which is chaired by former foreign minister Alexander Downer, Mr Turnbull said the COVID-19 crisis was "a metaphor at high speed for the climate change challenge".

"The challenge from climate change is just as existential, in fact arguably more so, as that from the virus," he said. "Now is the time for a concerted investment … that a renewable or zero-emissions energy sector requires."

"This would be a great opportunity to strike a blow against global warming and to provide the economic stimulus. … All that is needed is for the engineering and economics to replace ideology and idiocy."

'Blood-soaked political battlefields'

He avoided specifically mentioning Mr Morrison or US President Donald Trump by name, but said the two governments' climate denialism and political populism had "turned the physics of global warming into an issue of values, identity or belief".

Australia and the US were "blood-soaked political battlefields", where "the flakiness and unpredictability of government" had deprived investors of regulatory certainty that could foster the uptake of renewable energy.

"The big fallacy that we have got to get over is out-of-date thinking on the economics of energy generation," Mr Turnbull said, arguing that Australia should speed up its phase-out of coal-fired power generation.

He said government didn't need to offer big subsidies to the renewables sector, but should use regulation to guide and accelerate the inevitable energy transition, which would deliver cheaper power.

But "you've got to have some predictable rules. because you're talking about people making investments in infrastructure that they're looking at making 25-plus year returns on."

He was speaking alongside Mark Carney, former Bank of England governor turned climate finance adviser to the British government.

Green investment needs

Mr Carney said it was impossible to "self-isolate" from climate change, and called for governments to require companies to produce net-zero transition plans as a kind of quid-pro-quo for the financial support offered during the coronavirus crisis.

He also said that fiscal stimulus in the infrastructure sector should be oriented towards green investment.

After the GFC, Mr Carney said, only one dollar, pound and euro in every six had been spent on sustainable infrastructure, as governments grasped for projects that were ready to roll.

"I'm not sure we should be shovel-ready and backwards-looking," Mr Carney said.

Mr Turnbull pointed to Snowy Hydro 2.0, a government-owned project, as an example of governments stepping in. Governments could also "clearly play a role in common-user infrastructure like transmissions grids".

Asked about China's recent step-up in coal production, Mr Turnbull said it was "a very important and retrograde step".

"China is the world's biggest producer of coal … and it has been a driver of renewable energy," he said. "China has a massive vested interest in green energy so it is very troubling to see them - no doubt for employment reasons - reverting to coal-fired power."

Mr Turnbull said he not only supported carbon border taxes - at least in principle - but could also see an argument for domestic carbon taxes.

"Governments are going to be looking for revenue. There is a respectable argument that a carbon tax would be less of a deadweight or brake on economic activity than jacking up company tax or income taxes."

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/turnbull-roasts-morrison-on-climate-calling-covid-19-an-opportunity-20200507-p54qyf

Australian Border Force warns against self-medication as shipments of Trump-touted virus 'cure' soar

West Australians are turning to the dark web to buy an anti-malaria drug touted by US President Donald Trump as a coronavirus treatment, despite recent studies showing there is no good evidence to suggest it is effective in fighting the disease.

Australian Border Force revealed the amount of hydroxychloroquine detected at the border had surged since January, with officers intercepting thousands of tablets shipped from overseas.

While the tablets may be legally produced in their country of origin, accessing hydroxychloroquine without a prescription is banned in Australia.

Hydroxychloroquine is commonly used to treat malaria and autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, but it can potentially cause serious side effects such as sudden heart attacks and irreversible eye damage, and can also lead to a coma.

Since the start of the year, dozens of batches of the drug have been intercepted at the Australian border, including in Perth, prompting a warning by the ABF to stop importing and self-prescribing the medication.

Hydroxychloroquine tablets can be bought online from overseas suppliers for around $25 plus air shipping costs without a valid prescription.

The shipments intercepted by ABF came into the country via air and sea cargo, and international mail from countries in South East Asia.

WAtoday understands some of the packages contained tablets for personal use while others were small commercial quantities of the medication destined to be sold on the black market.

ABF acting commander Susan Drennan said officers were on the lookout for consignments of the drugs, adding anyone attempting to import it into Australia "will be wasting their money".

"Whether it's individuals wanting to self-prescribe, or criminals aiming to sell the drug on the black market, our officers have the technology, skills and innovative processes to detect and disrupt their illegal importations of pharmaceuticals such as this," she said.

The drug has been pushed by Mr Trump as a potential coronavirus cure after some very small, early tests suggested it might prevent the virus from entering cells.

The endorsement promoted worldwide shortages of the drug, which is sold as fish-tank cleaner in a different compound form.

Australian dentists had to be banned from prescribing the drug by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in March after writing out bulk doses for themselves and their families, leading to shortages for patients who needed it.

"Recent reports of increased off-label prescribing of medicines containing hydroxychloroquine have raised concerns that this will create a potential shortage of this product in Australia," the TGA said.

The therapeutic goods watchdog then discouraged the use of the medication outside of its current indications and clinical trials, adding there was "limited evidence for its effect against COVID-19".

All batches of hydroxychloroquine intercepted by Australian Border Force had been referred to the TGA for assessment.

Tablets have been returned to patients who can prove they have a valid prescription.

https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/abf-warns-against-self-medication-as-shipments-of-trump-touted-virus-cure-soar-20200508-p54r52.html

Three children rescued in the Philippines after tip-off from Australian authorities

An ongoing investigation by Australian authorities into the sexual abuse of children in the Philippines, including suspected live distance abuse committed by an Australian citizen, has resulted in the rescue of three children and the arrest of one woman in the Philippines.

Following a referral from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre (PICACC), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) conducted operational activity on Monday (4 May 2020) in Caloocan, Luzon.

Three children have been rescued and one woman arrested for her alleged role as the facilitator of online child sexual abuse.

This outcome in the Philippines comes as Australian authorities continue to investigate suspected child abuse offences committed by an Australian citizen.

The Australian investigation was launched following the return of an Australian citizen from the Philippines in late 2019. Information provided by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) helped identify the man leading to an examination of his devices by the Australian Border Force (ABF). This resulted in him being charged with the importation of child abuse material, contrary to 233BAB(5) of the Customs Act 1901 (Cth).

The ABF referred the matter to the AFP regarding the man’s alleged conduct offshore for further investigation, with financial intelligence provided by AUSTRAC.

Acting AFP Commander Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation and Child Protection Operations Paula Hudson said the outcome demonstrates the need for authorities to work quickly and effectively to rescue children from abuse.

“We are extremely heartened that a referral of critical information from Australian authorities has helped Philippine authorities rescue children from harm,” Acting Commander Hudson said.

“International partnerships are critical to our combined efforts to protect children no matter where they live.

“This arrest in the Philippines demonstrates the close working relationships between the AFP, Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation as well as all our domestic and international partners who work to ensure the protection of children around the world.

“We are not distracted by the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue our tireless work targeting anyone who seeks to exploit children.”

ABF Commander Investigations, Graeme Grosse, said the arrest and rescues were a powerful reminder of why the ABF works closely with both domestic and international stakeholders.

“Law enforcement agencies around the world are just as dedicated as we are to strongly combatting this type of activity, which has no place in any society. It is only when we work together that the most effective outcomes can be achieved, and the ABF continues to work tirelessly to detect, investigate and refer these types of abhorrent cases,” Commander Grosse said.

AUSTRAC National Manager Bradley Brown said financial intelligence helped to narrow in on this individual and continues to play a key role in our work to combat child sexual exploitation.

“We are committed to working with our partner agencies and the private sector to target and disrupt this offending, and we will continue to generate financial intelligence on Australians who are involved in this abuse.”

Acting Commander Hudson said the outcome shows that efforts to combat child sex abuse in the Philippines are having an immeasurable impact on the lives of young people in the region.

“The establishment of the PICACC in Manila in early 2019 has seen strong collaboration between domestic and foreign law enforcement partners, non-Government, public and private sectors.

“We have come together through the shared belief that no child should have to experience these abhorrent crimes.”

Further details on the PICACC are available here:

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/inauguration-philippine-internet-crimes-against-children-center

You can make a report in relation to online child exploitation online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the Report Abuse button at http://www.accce.gov.au/report

You can also make an anonymous report by calling Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/three-children-rescued-philippines-after-tip-australian-authorities

US Embassy Canberra Tweets

This week we pause to remember the Battle of #CoralSea, when U.S. and Australian forces fought together in defense of peace & freedom. We honor the bravery & sacrifice of the 656 Americans and Australians who gave their lives to protect Australia during that battle #LestWeForget

https://twitter.com/USAembassyinOZ/status/1257857842993717248

—

We were privileged to interview @Australian_Navy veteran Gordon Johnson (dec.) on his experience at the Battle of #CoralSea. His story, told to us in 2014, remains captivating, and a reminder on this 78th anniv. just how high the stakes were for (Australia) and the (United States) back in May 1942…

https://twitter.com/USAembassyinOZ/status/1258252599234490368

George Papadopoulos Tweet

Some one should check on Alexander Downer and Stefan Halper’s health too to make sure they aren’t feeling depressed.

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1258944173081628672

US Shows Bipartisan Support to Australian Ally in Response to Chinese Embassy Threats

In a show of bipartisan support, members of the United States Congress sent a letter on May 7 reaffirming its alliance with Australia and condemning the recent threats made by the Canberra-based Chinese Ambassador.

Members from both chambers and across the political divide wrote of the country’s “mateship” and reaffirmed the “strong support for the U.S.–Australia alliance.”

Addressed to Australian Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos, the letter said it is only “natural” that Australia seeks an objective and independent review into the origins of the virus, with the members of congress saying they “could not agree more.”

The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee wrote on Twitter on May 7:

“The US stands w/ our Australian friends & allies in the face of #CCP threats. I’ve joined Senate & House members in supporting #Australia after PRC Amb. Cheng suggested economic retaliation after it called for an investigation into the origins of #COVID19.”

The letter was signed by 27 members from both the House of Representatives and Senate and included senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

They cited comments from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong.

In calling for an investigation Morrison said, “We’d like the world to be safer when it comes to viruses … I would hope that any other nation, be it China or anyone else, would share that objective.”

The letter said the response from Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye in an interview with the Australian Financial Review on April 26, was “deeply disturbing” and that they “unequivocally opposed this behavior.”

When Cheng was questioned on calling for an investigation, he responded by claiming: “It’s not in your interests. It won’t bring you respect and it’s detrimental to global efforts.”

When pressed on whether China would stop buying Australian iron ore, coal, or gas, he said there would be no boycott, but the Chinese public was “frustrated, dismayed, and disappointed” with Australia.

“Maybe the ordinary people will think why they should not drink Australian wine or eat Australian beef?”

The letter from the U.S. members of Congress said these comments insinuated Australia may face “economic retaliation.”

“This incident is part of a broader and concerning pattern from the Chinese government,” wrote the lawmakers. “As we continue to confront this deadly disease and its consequences, we will be faced with many tough decisions, including those that may arise from the Chinese government’s continued lack of cooperation and transparency.”

“One decision that is not difficult is to always stand with our Australian mates. No matter the external pressure or coercion, we will always have Australia’s back, just as Australia has always had ours.”

Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI) wrote on Twitter on May 7:

“Not for the first time, the CCP has issued thinly-disguised threats against our ally Australia. Earlier today, I wrote to Amb @A_Sinodinos alongside my colleagues @RepJoeCourtney, @SenatorRisch and @SenatorMenendez to make clear the US always supports our mates.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-shows-bipartisan-support-to-australian-ally-in-response-to-chinese-embassy-threats_3343153.html

https://twitter.com/SenateForeign/status/1258455617049628677

https://twitter.com/RepGallagher/status/1258468058659786752

>>9091409

Congress of the United States

May 7, 2020

The Honorable Arthur Sinodinos

Ambassador

Embassy of Australia

1145 17th St NW

Washington DC, 20036

Ambassador Sinodinos,

As Australia, along with the rest of the world, deals with the terrible human and economic consequences of COVID-19, we write to reaffirm our strong support for the U.S.-Australia alliance. For more than a century, our nations have stood side by side during moments of great peril. The current crisis is no different. Although the challenges we face are new, what has not changed is our shared commitment to our values and to our friends.

Given the tremendous toll COVID-19 has taken on the world, it is only natural that Australia – like all nations concerned with upholding best practices for global public health – would want an objective, scientific, evidence-based, and rigorous investigation into the origins of the virus. As Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated in calling for an independent review, “We’d like the world to be safer when it comes to viruses…I would hope that any other nation, be it China or anyone else, would share that objective.” Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong further emphasized that Australia must “press what is right, what we believe is right, for us and for the international community, and making sure that humanity understands how this virus started is the right thing to do." We could not agree more.

Unfortunately, and not for the first time, Chinese government officials responded to these calls with deeply disturbing and thinly-disguised threats of retaliation. In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye called such an inquiry “dangerous” and threatened economic retaliation along a number of fronts, including boycotts of Australian wine and beef. We unequivocally oppose this behavior and strongly support Foreign Minister Marise Payne’s rejection of “any suggestion that economic coercion is an appropriate response to a call for such an assessment.”

This incident is part of a broader and concerning pattern from the Chinese government. As we continue to confront this deadly disease and its consequences, we will be faced with many tough decisions, including those that may arise from the Chinese government’s continued lack of cooperation and transparency. One decision that is not difficult is to always stand with our Australian mates. No matter the external pressure or coercion, we will always have Australia’s back, just as Australia has always had ours.

Thank you for your hard work on behalf of the U.S.-Australia alliance. We look forward to continuing to work with you in support of our common interests and values.

In Mateship,

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI)

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT)

Senator Jim Risch (R-ID)

Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ)

Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO)

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD)

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)

Senator Chris Coons (R-DE)

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI)

Senator David Perdue (R-GA)

Senator Todd Young (R-IN)

Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI)

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY)

Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA)

Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK)

Rep. Ed Case (D-HI)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)

Rep. William Timmons (R-SC)

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA)

Rep. Ron Wright (R-KS)

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA)

Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX)

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-CA)

Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH)

For the mums

>>9097910

Yo (999); Here's the D.O.R.

Open with Care:

https://web.archive.org/web/20150307130920/http://www.thedor.net/

Q: Anti-matter<:>Ferro-cell<:>Hologram

[[Beats]<:>[binAry+Inversions]];- Creates Tri_Version(s)

Svalbard, Norway McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

La Coruna, Spain Christchurch, New Zealand

Leon, Spain Wellington, New Zealand

Seville, Spain Auckland, New Zealand

Timbuktu, Mali Fiji

Bermuda Perth, Australia

Bogota, Colombia Jakarta, Indonesia

Lima, Peru Bangkok, Thailand

Asuncion, Paraguay Taipei, Taiwan

Santiago, Chile Xian, China

Buenos Aires, Argentina Shanghai, China

Cordoba, Argentina Wuhan, China

Bahia Blanca, Argentina Beijing, China

Repost from Q Research General #11646

>>9098602 (pb)

Panic Australian MSM

‘Plandemic’: The concerning new coronavirus conspiracy movie going viral

A disgraced doctor is the face of a worrying new coronavirus conspiracy movie with thousands of believers fighting to keep it online.

There’s been plenty of conspiracy theories to come out of the coronavirus pandemic.

But the latest worrying one, a documentary called Plandemic, is having some serious staying power as thousands of believers battle with social media sites to keep the video online.

“The Hidden Agenda Behind COVID-19,” the documentary’s description reads. “Was COVID-19 a plan?”

YouTube and Facebook continue to delete copies of the 26-minute video, saying it breaks their “community guidelines”, but versions of it keep popping up.

Filmmaker Mikki Willis anticipated the video getting deleted, and encouraged his followers on Facebook to keep sharing it.

“Be brave. Share this video far and wide,” he wrote, adding a Vimeo link of the footage “should this video be removed from this platform”.

However, the video has also since been deleted by Vimeo.

The movie, which claims the coronavirus pandemic is part of an elaborate plan from big pharma and billionaires to enforce globally-mandated vaccinations, features Dr Judy Mikovitz as its main spokeswoman.

Dr Mikovitz, once a practising medical researcher, spent five days in jail for allegedly stealing material from a lab and had her research on chronic fatigue discredited in 2011.

She is also a well-known anti-vax spokeswoman, despite claiming she is not in the film.

Dr Mikovitz even blames Italy’s horrific experience with coronavirus on a flu vaccine they received in 2019.

“Italy has a very old population. They’re very sick with inflammatory disorders,” she says.

“They got, at the beginning of 2019, an untested, new form of influenza vaccine that had four different strains of influenza including the highly pathogenic H1N1.”

Dr Mikovitz also takes aim at Bill Gates in the film, whose charitable foundation is one of the biggest funders of the World Health Organisation.

“This is the crime behind letting somebody like Bill Gates with billions of dollars, nobody elected him, he has no medical background, he has no expertise, but we let people like that have a voice in this country while we destroy the lives of millions of people,” she says.

Health authorities and global experts on zoonotic diseases – ones spread from animals to humans – have repeatedly shut down suggestions coronavirus came from a laboratory with its most likely source being a bat.

However, when Dr Mikovitz was asked if she believes the virus was “created” in a laboratory, she claims to know exactly where the virus came from.

“I wouldn’t use the word created but you can’t say naturally occurring if it was by way of the laboratory,” she says.

“So it’s very clear this virus was manipulated … and studied in a lab where the animals were taken into the lab and this was what was released. Whether deliberate or not.

“I’m sure it occurred between the North Carolina laboratories in Fort Detrick and the Wuhan laboratory.”

Dr Mikovitz is referring to the research relationship between scientists in the US and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, however, the collaboration between them has long been a well-known fact.

Despite the film doing the rounds, its sceptics are also fighting back.

Thousands of people online are pushing to get the video off the internet and the theories in the film continue to be debunked.

“What’s gone wrong with our education, what’s gone wrong with our common sense?” Dr Zubin Damania asks.

“This video is filled with the worst kind of conspiracy nonsense … this is crazy. Don’t waste your time watching it, don’t waste your time sharing it, I can’t believe I’m wasting my time talking about it.”

https://youtu.be/KHeg9DDrjMs

https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/global/plandemic-the-concerning-new-coronavirus-conspiracy-movie-going-viral/news-story/7fbc7d597ded2d148b7ed12fa7dcd069

>>9100731 (off bread)

>https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hashtag_click

oi cunts they took our kebabs

I DO NOT CONSENT

THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN REBELLION

All Capital City Parliament House Steps

Sunday 10th May 12pm

All Towns and Cities in Australia

Be There or you and your children will live with the consequences.

#QAnon trending on Twitter in Australia

6:20 pm

Sunday, 10 May 2020 (AEST)

https://trends24.in/australia/

#ObamaGate trending on Twitter in Australia

3:00 pm

Monday, 11 May 2020 (AEST)

https://trends24.in/australia/

Ten arrested and police officer injured at protest against Victoria’s Covid-19 lockdown laws

Majority of arrests for failing to comply with public health orders as protesters rallied against self-isolating, tracking apps and 5G

Ten people have been arrested and one police officer has been hospitalised after demonstrators who gathered in Melbourne’s CBD to protest against “self-isolating, social distancing, tracking apps [and] 5G being installed” clashed with police enforcing Victoria’s lockdown laws.

Victoria police said on Sunday that 10 people, including two organisers, were arrested after more than 100 people turned out on the steps of Victoria’s parliament on Sunday in contravention of emergency powers restricting gatherings introduced to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Footage from the Melbourne protest showed numerous confrontations between demonstrators and police. While the majority of the arrests were for failing to comply with public health orders, three people will be charged with assaulting a police officer and another for “discharging a missile” after allegedly throwing a bottle at an officer.

One officer was taken to hospital after suffering a rib injury, Victoria Police said.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Victoria police said officers would review social media footage of the protest and fine people who attended.

“When attending the protest today, the priority for police was to quickly arrest those individuals who were acting unlawfully and inciting others to breach the chief health officer’s directions,” a police spokeswoman said.

“Once police made arrests, the crowd started to disperse. Police are continuing to investigate the events of today in order to identify other people who were in attendance. Once individuals are identified, we will be issuing them with fines and will consider any other enforcement options.”

The protest, which was promoted on various Facebook groups linked to fringe conspiracy groups including QAnon and various anti-vaxxers, followed a smaller demonstration in Sydney on Saturday in which a 36-year-old woman was arrested and fined while wearing a sign that read “if you don’t know your rights, you don’t have any. *Magna Carta,” after refusing to provide her details to police.

Demonstrators in Melbourne held signs about 5G, China and the Murray-Darling River while chanting “arrest Bill Gates”. Various speakers claimed Covid-19 was a conspiracy orchestrated by “globalists”, while one of the main organisers of the rally, Fanos Panayides, told the crowd he promised his father he would never be microchipped.

Panayides, previously a contestant on the Nine Network program Family Food Fight, was later arrested by police as he tried to find a verse from the Bible on his mobile phone.

He later posted a video of himself on the train after the demonstration, saying “innocent people were being arrested”.

“I don’t have a problem with what the cops do – I never did – I just have a problem with who they do it for,” he said.

“I sat in the back of a [police] van for the first time in my life. It was quite a surreal feeling. Because I didn’t fight back the police were quite respectful in terms of not causing me any harm. I didn’t give them any reasons to detain me other than being guilty of a summary offence.

“Yeah, it was pretty interesting when I was trying to say that part out of Revelations about the microchip is when they came and grabbed me.”

When questioned about the protests at a press conference on Sunday afternoon, the chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, said there is a lot of “very silly misinformation” out there, such as the 5G network spreading the virus.

“There is absolutely no evidence about 5G doing anything in the coronavirus space. I have unfortunately received a lot of communication from these conspiracy theorists myself,” Murphy said during his daily update on the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also said while people had the right to protest, they should not be breaching social distancing rules and those who do “should be held to account”.

Beyond its links to various conspiracy theories, the protest marks the first pushback against the lockdown laws introduced in Australia following the outbreak of Covid-19. Similar protests have taken place across the US, and the “arrest Bill Gates” chant was started by far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones at a protest in Austin, Texas.

It comes a day before the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is expected to announce a loosening of restrictions on smaller gatherings in line with other states.

(continued)

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/10/ten-arrested-and-police-officer-injured-at-protest-against-victorias-covid-19-lockdown-laws

Repost from Q Research General #11654

>>9105325 (pb)

"The Pyramid"

public art works - sculpture

Forbes, New South Wales, Australia

Australia has a small satanic pedophile problem. And by small, I mean as big as the small island-continent of Australia itself. The symbolism is EVERYWHERE in Australia.

---

Pyramid (Bronze Sculpture)

Dimensions 190 x 170 x 160 cm (H*L*W) 750 kgs approx.

Materials Bronze

Description

Gillie and Marc created Pyramid as a symbol of a perfect balance of community and friendship. However, after donating it as part of the Forbes Sculpture Trail, not everyone from the town was feeling the community spirit. In the lead-up to the 2014 NRL Grand Final, rival fans dressed the artwork in Bulldogs and Rabbitohs team colours. “I love (the sculpture), but I know my community is divided over it,” said Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller said. “I find it quite bizarre that anyone can find anything sexual in it. I know there’s genitalia but it’s about diversity. And I even see humour in it.” Forbes Arts Society president Keith Mullette said nudity had brought out Forbes’ ‘conservative heritage’. He also said he loved the statue and it had already drawn tourism dollars to the town. “It’s been the most photographed thing in town for the past 12 months.”

https://gillieandmarc.com/products/pyramid

---

Gillie and Marc

Gillie and Marc Schattner are an Australian collaborative artist couple. Gillie and Marc are known for their animal, human-animal hybrid and abstract sculptures, which have been exhibited as public works of art around the world. They also produced many paintings, street art and people statues.

Personal life

Gillie and Marc met in 1990 on a film shoot in Hong Kong, where Gillie was a model and Marc was the creative director. She is Catholic and he is Jewish. They married seven days after they met, in a Hindu ceremony. They have lived in Singapore, and New York, and now live in Sydney.

Art career

Marc studied graphic design at Swinburne, Melbourne, while Gillie received no formal art training. Prior to collaborating, Gillie worked as a model, and Marc was an artist from Melbourne working in an advertising agency. The Schattners first exhibited as a pair in Singapore in 1990. Upon returning to Australia in 1999, they had a joint exhibition called Life Can’t Wait, painting portraits of twenty Australians who face death and were on the organ waiting list. The project was sponsored by the Australian Red Cross Blood Service and was used to create awareness and encourage the public to sign up to be organ donors. In 2006 they were Archibald Prize finalists for a portrait of former Olympic swimmer John Konrads representing his battle with bi-polar disorder. They made their first hybrid human-animal heads in 2005; they created the characters Dogman and Rabbitgirl, (who later became Rabbitwoman) in 2011. Their work has been stolen, and the nude figures have generated controversy.

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

---

About

Gillie and Marc have been called “the most successful and prolific creators of public art in New York’s History” by the New York Times. Creating some of the world’s most innovative public sculptures, Gillie and Marc are re-defining what public art should be, spreading messages of love, equality, and conservation around the world. Their highly coveted sculptures and paintings can be seen in art galleries and public sites in over 250 cities. They’re Archibald Prize Finalists and have won the Chianciano Biennale in Italy, together with winning 2 years in a row People’s Choice Award in Sydney’s Sculpture by the Sea, among other notable awards and accolades.

The artists are best known for their beloved characters, Rabbitwoman and Dogman, who tell the autobiographical tale of two opposites coming together to become best friends and soul mates. As unlikely animal kingdom companions, the Rabbit and the Dog stand for diversity and acceptance through love. Gillie and Marc believe art is a powerful platform for change. Their art is multi-disciplinary, paying homage to the importance of togetherness, as well as the magnificence of the natural world, and the necessity of preserving it – for we are it, and it is us.

https://gillieandmarc.com/pages/about

https://gillieandmarc.com/collections/garden-sculptures/products/deerman-thought-a-pear-a-day-would-help-him-play

https://gillieandmarc.com/collections/garden-sculptures/products/deerman-with-coffee

#ObamaGate / #obamagate trending on Twitter in Australia

6:20 am

Tuesday, 12 May 2020 (AEST)

https://trends24.in/australia/

Celebrity Chef Pete Evans Is Sharing QAnon Conspiracy Theory Posts On Instagram After Losing His Job

The last month hasn't been great for many. Pete Evans is likely to count himself among them.

The Australian celebrity chef and television presenter has previously courted controversy for making unfounded health claims about his recipes and platforming anti-vaxxers. But even for him, Evans has been subject to an abnormally large number of public scandals in recent weeks.

His company was fined $25,000 after Evans claimed the "BioCharger" wellness gizmo that he was selling on his website for $14,990 could address the coronavirus. Experts slammed his new cookbook of ketogenic recipes for being unsustainable and unbalanced. And then finally, multiple news outlets reported he had lost his lucrative job hosting reality cooking show My Kitchen Rules — the gig that made him a household name in Australia.

What has received less attention, though, is his social media activity. Evans frequently shares what he's been doing on his Facebook page (1.49 million likes) and Instagram account (231,000 followers).

In the past month, his content has taken a darker turn.

This week, after news broke of his departure from My Kitchen Rules, Evans shared content relating to the QAnon conspiracy theory, a baseless belief that US president Donald Trump is in charge of an investigation into a secret group of satanic, cannibalistic pedophiles among political elites.

Evans shared graphics on his Instagram on May 11 and 12 that use language and symbols common among the believers of this extreme theory.

His May 11 post is an overwhelming chart including dozens of obscure references to parts of the theory that are fringe even among QAnon believers, including "genetic farmer races", "Nazi breakaway groups" and "inner earth civilizations".

His May 12 post claimed the media will cover up the impending arrests of celebrities for "major crimes against humanity" by using codewords about their coronavirus testing results.

Other posts have included a clip from the misinformation-filled documentary Plandemic, a chart implying that conspiracy theorist bogeyman Bill Gates influenced the Imperial College of London's COVID-19 modelling, and a Trump post.

Pete Evans did not respond to questions from BuzzFeed News about his posts.

While Evans has long peddled misinformation about fluoride and other wellness fads, he has recently begun using his enormous platform to share more extreme content that promotes a wide array of conspiracy theories. In early April, he posted a raft of content popular with 5G truthers, antivaxxers and chemtrail believers.

Some of these posts were framed as queries rather than endorsements. On an interview about Bill Gates, Evans wrote "interesting interview just launched. Thoughts?"

The shift in tone appears to be hurting his Facebook following — but only slightly. According to social media analytics site Crowdtangle, Evan's Facebook following peaked in early 2016 and has consistently and gradually fallen since then. But April was his worst month ever in raw follower numbers as he lost more than 3,700 fans.

On Instagram, though, Evans is trending up. Since Crowdtangle began tracking his account in early 2016, his follower count has grown. His follower count grew by more than 900 in April — but that was the smallest monthly growth for Evans this year (he had 2,700 new followers in January, 1,600 in February, and 1,600 in March).

While some fans have questioned why so many conspiracy theories are suddenly turning up in their feeds, others have fully embraced the shift. One follower commented on Evan's May 5 post about an interview with longtime conspiracy theorist David Icke: "Thank you so much for sharing…"

(continued)

https://www.buzzfeed.com/cameronwilson/pete-evans-qanon-conspiracy-instagram

—

Chef Pete Evans Instagram Post

Could this be true? And if so let’s start at the imperial college of London and see what has flowed from their information. ❤️✌️🌈. Comment if you like…and connect the dots. Interesting to search who also has shares in the bottom row 💰 If you thought multinational food ties to health authorities was interesting, this could be a whole other level.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_8rM_Vj3Hc/

George Papadopoulos Tweets

Where is the Alexander Downer and Joseph Mifsud 302s?

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1259924349139599360

—

Has anyone checked on Stefan Halper, Joseph Mifsud or Alexander Downer lately to make sure they aren’t feeling depressed?

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1259929264155062272

—

Australia, the U.K., Italy and Ukraine are implicated in Obamagate. As of now, only Italy has been helpful and is cooperating with the release of info on Mifsud. Australia was lying to the President during their call last year with the hope he would have been swept up by Mueller

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1259954151460503554

Clergy abuse survivor draws support for petition to defrock Pell

A petition started by a clergy abuse survivor has received more than 30,000 signatures supporting his call for Cardinal George Pell to be defrocked.

Paul Levey, who was abused by convicted paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, began the Change.org petition on Friday and said he was surprised by the response.

"The first night I went to bed and it was at 600 and I thought that was fantastic. Now, I think it's around 32,000 signatures," Mr Levey said.

Mr Levey was 13 when he was sent to live with Ridsdale in the presbytery in Mortlake, in south-west Victoria, where he was abused daily for six months.

He said the release of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse's previously redacted findings into Cardinal Pell inspired him to start the petition.

The Royal Commission found that Cardinal Pell was told at a meeting in 1982 that Ridsdale was being moved from Mortlake because of his alleged sexual abuse of children, although it made no finding that Cardinal Pell was aware of specific cases of abuses.

Mr Levey said he plans to send the petition to Pope Francis, Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli, and Ballarat Bishop Paul Bird.

"Hopefully it'll show them there's a lot of people out there that aren't happy with the way things are done with the Catholic Church," he said.

"Whether Pope Francis takes any notice of it, or just dismisses it, it shows the community of survivors that there's 32,000 people behind us now.

"We're not out there on our own."

In a statement, Cardinal Pell said he was "surprised by some of the views of the Royal Commission about his actions" as they "are not supported by evidence".

"He is especially surprised by the statements in the report about the earlier transfers of Gerald Ridsdale discussed by the Ballarat Diocesan Consultors in 1977 and 82," the statement said.

"The Consultors who gave evidence on the meetings in 1977 and 1982 either said they did not learn of Ridsdale's offending against children until much later or they had no recollection of what was discussed.

"None said they were made aware of Ridsdale's offending at these meetings."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-11/clergy-abuse-survivor-draws-support-for-petition-to-defrock-pell/12232788

—

Defrock Cardinal George Pell.

Paul Levey started this petition to Pope Francis, Arch Bishop Peter Comesoli and Bishop Paul Bird

Cardinal George Pell needs to be removed from the priesthood after the full details of the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Abuse findings were finally released, acknowledging he knew of child abuse in the Ballarat diocese. Pell allowed Gerald Ridsdale and others to continue to abuse children in their care for decades by simply moving them around to continue abusing

I was a victim of Ridsdale over a period of years, living in the presbytery in Mortlake where he abused nearly every Catholic boy in the town, as well as number of young girls.

George Pell accompanied Ridsdale to court in the ’90s as a character reference. He claimed he did not know why he was going to court that day.

I ask Pell be dismissed from the clerical state and defrocked, or in the very least resign immediately.

Pell attended consulters meetings in Ballarat Diocese were Ridsdale’s and other child abuse offending was discussed in Rome Pell quoted “ it was not of interest to me “

Please, help me get Pell removed from the protection of the Catholic Church in Australia and Rome.

The Church needs to face survivors and offer fair compensation, not the dismal offers you have made in the past

The Pope needs to set an example, showing child abuse and the cover-up of child abuse is not acceptable and will be dealt with by the law of the land, not your cannon law!

Please, sign and share my petition and stand with survivors of child sexual abuse.

Paul Levey

Survivor of Gerald Ridsdale

Counselling and support services

1800 Respect: 1800 737 732 | Bravehearts: 1800 272 831 | Child Wise: 1800 991 099

Lifeline: 13 11 14 | Care Leavers Australia Network: 1800 008 774 | PartnerSPEAK: (03) 9018 7872

https://www.change.org/p/defrock-cardinal-george-pell

Three men charged, four children removed from harm after AFP investigation into child exploitation network

1/2

Two Sydney men and a Queensland man have been charged in the past week and four children have been saved from further harm, following a national police investigation into individuals allegedly producing and sharing child abuse material.

The investigation into an online network began in February 2020 after a tip-off from the United States’ National Center for Missing and Exploited Children resulted in the Australian Federal Police Child Protection Operations (CPO) team in NSW arresting another Sydney man, aged 29, for possessing and sharing child abuse material.

A subsequent forensic examination of that man’s electronic devices revealed he was allegedly communicating with a 28-year-old man from the Queensland town of Hervey Bay via an instant messaging application.

The NSW AFP officers alerted counterparts in the Queensland Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (QLD JACET), who began an investigation into the Hervey Bay man’s alleged online activities.

On Wednesday, 6 May (2020), the QLD JACET, along with members of the AFP Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), executed a search warrant at the man’s residence and seized several electronic items, including a tablet and a laptop computer.

During this warrant, a forensic and ACCCE covert interrogation of seized electronic items identified another individual who was suspected of sending self-produced child abuse material to the Hervey Bay man.

The 28-year-old will appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court on 3 July on charges of transmitting and possessing child abuse material.

The NSW AFP CPO team began urgent enquiries to identify that person and on Friday 8 May, with the assistance of NSW Police Force Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad officers, executed a search warrant at a Sydney residence and removed a child from harm.

Police will allege a 29-year-old man had been sexually abusing a boy known to him at that location and creating and producing child exploitation material.

It will be alleged he had been transmitting and sharing videos and photographs of the alleged abuse of the boy, as well as other child abuse material.

Police will also allege that the 29-year-old has sexually abused three other young boys he had contact with and inquiries by the AFP and NSW Police Force Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad are ongoing.

The man is also accused of engaging in sexual acts with two dogs, which have also been removed from harm.

Several electronic items – which allegedly contain child abuse images and videos – and other evidence were seized from the man’s home during the warrant.

The 29-year-old has been charged with 10 offences:

* Having sexual intercourse with a child under 10, contrary to section 66A(1) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW);

* Three counts of intentionally sexually touch a child under 10, contrary to section 66DA(a) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW),

* Bestiality, contrary to section 79 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW),

* Two counts of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material, contrary to section 474.22 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);

* Two counts of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to 474.22A of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth),

* Possessing, controlling, producing, supplying or obtaining child abuse material for use through a carriage service, contrary to section 474.23 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).

The potential maximum penalties for the offences range from 14 years imprisonment to a life sentence.

The man has been remanded in custody to reappear in Central Local Court on 9 June.

Further inquiries on Friday (8 May), led police to search the Sydney home of a 48-year-old man, who is allegedly known to the 29-year-old.

A preliminary search of his computer uncovered images and videos allegedly depicting child abuse material.

The 48-year-old was charged with possessing, controlling, producing or supplying child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.23 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth) and faced a Parramatta court on Saturday, 9 May.

He was remanded in custody until his next appearance in Penrith Local Court on Tuesday 12 May.

(continued)

>>9137335

2/2

AFP Acting Commander for ACCCE and Child Protection Operations Paula Hudson said the efforts of all the ACCCE, AFP and State police in NSW and QLD involved in the investigation had saved four young boys from further harm.

“It is heartbreaking to think of any child being sexually abused or exploited to satisfy an adult’s criminal impulses, but it strengthens our resolve to hunt down perpetrators and bring them to justice,” she said.

“Sexual abuse has a devastating and lifelong impact on the child victims and their families and that abuse is amplified each time images or videos detailing the crimes are shared.”

Acting Commander Hudson said the AFP and ACCCE work tirelessly to protect children wherever they live.

“We use a range of investigative techniques to detect anyone who preys on children – in person or online,” she said.

“We want to warn offenders they cannot stay anonymous online and the COVID-19 crisis has not shifted our focus from tracking down anyone involved in this vile behaviour.

“Use of encrypted applications and systems to share this distressing material will not protect you. We have the tools and capabilities to crack open your networks and arrest you.”

The ACCCE, which is headquartered in Brisbane, is committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and is at the centre of a collaborative national approach to combatting organised child abuse.

The Centre brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into child sexual abuse and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.

Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime stoppers on 1800 333 000.

You can also make a report online by alerting the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation via the Report Abuse button at www.accce.gov.au/report

EDITOR’S NOTE: Media are reminded of their obligations to protect the identity of child victims and victims of sexual assault under s15A of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW) and s105 of the Children and Young Person (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW).

Note to media:

USE OF TERM 'CHILD ABUSE' MATERIAL, NOT 'CHILD PORNOGRAPHY'

Use of the phrase "child pornography" benefits child sex abusers because it:

* indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and

* conjures images of children posing in 'provocative' positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.

* Every photograph captures an actual situation where a child has been abused. This is not "pornography".

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/three-men-charged-four-children-removed-harm-after-afp-investigation-0

Sydney man jailed for online exploitation and extortion of children

A 24-year-old Sydney man has been jailed for nine years and six months after he posed as a teen to exploit and extort explicit images from children online.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) began investigations in February 2019 after receiving information from a member of the public that a person was engaging in sexualised conversations with an Australian teenager through a social media platform.

Subsequent enquiries by the AFP Eastern Command Child Protection Operations identified a then 23-year-old Manly Vale man as being responsible for these conversations.

The man lied about his age and identity to elicit sexually explicit photos from the teenager, and then later threatened to share the images with the teenager’s friends and family if they did not send the man further explicit material.

The teenager reported the information to their parents, who alerted police.

The AFP arrested the Manly Vale man on 20 February 2019 at Sydney International Airport after returning from overseas.

A search warrant was also executed at his Manly Vale residence and he was initially charged with five offences.

After further investigations and forensic examination of devices seized during the February search warrant, investigators identified further child exploitation offences committed by the man.

As a result of these enquiries, officers from the AFP Victim Identification Team identified a further 48 child victims and, in September 2019, charged the man with additional offences.

The man faced a total of 54 charges, including:

* 29 counts of using a carriage service to solicit child pornography material contrary to s474.19(1) Criminal Code (Cth)

* Five counts of using a carriage service to transmit child pornography material contrary to s474.19(1) Criminal Code (Cth)

* 18 counts of using a carriage service to engage in sexual activity with a person under 16 years old contrary to s474.25A(1) Criminal Code (Cth)

* One count of producing child abuse material contrary to s91H(2) Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)

* One count of possessing child abuse material contrary to s91H(2) Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)

Today the man was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison, with a non-parole period of six years and four months.

AFP Detective Sergeant Jarryd Dunbar, NSW JACET, said the investigation is a reminder of the importance of making sure children feel comfortable speaking to their parents and police about suspicious online activity.

“We are very thankful that in this case the victim was courageous enough to speak up and let their parents know what had happened, and that the parents encouraged open communication with their child about their online activity,” Detective Sergeant Dunbar said.

“By speaking up, this brave act helped us to identify many other victims and potentially saved further Australian children from harm online.”

The father of the child who approached police said he was glad his child had come forward.

“He, and we, won’t know the full impact this will have on him for many years, if we ever do - it will be there for the rest of his life - what we do know is that by being brave enough to tell and show me [his father] it was immediately stopped. The impact was for him was minimised, the person was caught and he has saved all the future victims from harm," said the man.

His full statement can be read here:

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/statement-father-victim-online-child-exploitation

The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).

The CDPP’s Deputy Director responsible for Human Exploitation and Border Protection, Mark de Crespigny, said the successful prosecution outcome was the result of strong working relationships between partner agencies and those agencies’ commitment to seeing perpetrators of these types of crimes brought to justice.

“This offender’s behaviour involved the prolonged, predatory and deliberate exploitation of vulnerable children, children who had a right to feel safe and secure while using the internet to study, and connect with friends and family, and the sentence delivered today reflects the seriousness of this type of crime,” he said.

“The work the AFP and our other partner agencies do in investigating the sexual exploitation of children is to be commended. The CDPP remains committed to prosecuting those who engage in this type of offending to the full extent possible.”

…..

ThinkUKnow is an online child safety program aiming to raise awareness and prevent online child sexual exploitation. Information and resources for parents and carers can be found at www.thinkuknow.org.au

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/sydney-man-jailed-online-exploitation-and-extortion-children

>>9137427

Statement from father of victim of online child exploitation

Media note: The father of the child who approached the AFP provided the below statement on the condition of anonymity.

“My son was the victim of an online paedophile. It took him weeks of extortion and exploitation before he could speak up. I am glad my son had the courage to speak up and show me what was happening. We were able to take screen shots and send them to the police and the paedophile was caught.

My son says that he wishes he didn’t have to be the one that spoke up - he wishes someone before him spoke up and it never would have happened to him, they would have saved themselves and they would have saved all the other victims that came after them.

I have told my son that by speaking up and showing me what was happening he has not only saved himself but he saved all the other kids that would have been victims in the future - he is a hero for speaking up.

My son knows it isn’t enough to just delete or block and run when you encounter an online paedophile, you have to tell your parents when it happens - they can keep you safe plus get the police to track the person down so he doesn’t do it other people. My son was scared to speak up but he knows that it makes you safer if you speak up and hiding it makes you less safe.

I am proud of my son for speaking up and showing me what was happening to him - it would have taken him great courage to show me as his father what he was doing after being forced to by this paedophile - by telling me and showing me what was happening to him we were able to collect evidence to have the paedophile caught and he has saved a lot of other kids from falling victim.

He, and we, won’t know the full impact this will have on him for many years, if we ever do - it will be there for the rest of his life - what we do know is that by being brave enough to tell and show me [his father] it was immediately stopped. The impact was for him was minimised, the person was caught and he has saved all the future victims from harm."

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/statement-father-victim-online-child-exploitation

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo Tweet

Pleased to speak with @MarisePayne, @ernestofaraujo, @DrSJaishankar, @Israel_katz, @moteging, and @MOFAkr_eng to discuss cooperation in combatting the #COVID19 pandemic. The rule of law, transparency, and accountability will be key to our shared success.

https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1259914775380856834

—

Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade Tweet

@MarisePayne had productive talks overnight with @ernestofaraujo, @DrSJaishankar, @Israel_katz, @moteging, @MOFAkr_eng & @SecPompeo as we work together to overcome #COVID19.

Transparency & learning the lessons of this pandemic are critical to prevent future global health crises.

https://twitter.com/dfat/status/1259997683940458497

—

Secretary Michael R. Pompeo’s Videoconference with Partners on COVID-19

READOUT

OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON

MAY 11, 2020

The following is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus:

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke with the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Brazil, India, Israel, Japan, and the Republic of Korea today via videoconference. Secretary Pompeo and his counterparts discussed the importance of international cooperation, transparency, and accountability in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic and in addressing its causes. They also discussed collaboration toward preventing future global health crises, reaffirming the importance of the rules-based international order.

https://www.state.gov/secretary-michael-r-pompeos-videoconference-with-partners-on-covid-19/

New powers for ASIO to question 14-year-olds and go after foreign spies

Australia's domestic intelligence agency will have the power to forcibly question foreign spies and 14-year-olds under new laws introduced to Parliament.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation will also be able to place tracking devices on cars or in people's bags with only internal approval, rather than a warrant, as part of a major overhaul of the agency's powers.

As first revealed by The Sunday Age and Sun-Herald in March this year, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and his department have been working on a plan to remove ASIO's controversial power to detain people for up to a week and beef up its compulsory question powers to catch agents of foreign influence.

Laws which came into effect in 2003 gave ASIO powers to obtain warrants to question a person under compulsion for up to 24 hours in relation to a potential terrorism offence, or to detain and question them for up to seven days.

Under the bill introduced to Parliament by Mr Dutton on Wednesday, the questioning and detention power - which has never been used - will be removed.

The questioning power will be beefed up to ensure people attend and it will be extended to espionage, foreign interference and politically motivated violence.

The move to widen the counter-terrorism laws comes as security agencies warn the level of espionage and foreign interference in Australia is at unprecedented levels.

Parliament's intelligence and security committee will review the proposed changes.

China has previously been blamed by security agencies for large-scale hacking in Australia, while ASIO has been investigating a suspected Chinese military intelligence operative in Melbourne who had approached a Liberal Party member to run for parliament.

Without naming China or any other country which has been ramping up its foreign interference activities, ASIO boss Mike Burgess has said ASIO would need to have "a wide range of tools in our tool box" to counter the growing threat.

Under the changes, ASIO will also be able to question 14-year-old suspects, down from the current minimum age of 16.

The lower age bracket has been set in response to the increased threat posed by minors, according to the government.

The Attorney-General will also be able to issue questioning warrants directly under the changes, removing the role of the "issuing authority" who must be a current judge.

Questioning warrants will also be able to issued orally by the Attorney-General in an emergency.

The bill will also give ASIO the power to internally authorise the use of tracking devices without a warrant. This will give the spy agency "greater operational ability to respond to time critical threats, mitigate the risk to ASIO operatives engaging in physical surveillance and help resolve the operational difficulties faced by ASIO when engaged in joint operations with law enforcement

agencies", according to the bill's explainer.

Introducing the bill, Mr Dutton said the legislation was aimed at ensuring ASIO had the powers it needed to tackle terrorism, espionage and politically motivated violence.

"The [ASIO] director-general recently noted in his annual threat assessment the number of terrorism leads ASIO is investigating has doubled since this time last year," Mr Dutton told Parliament.

Law Council of Australia president Pauline Wright said she welcomed the repeal of the detention power, but was seriously concerned with the changes to the questioning warrants. She said he hoped there would be enough time to properly scrutinise the changes.

"The proposal to reduce the age of minors who may be subject to questioning from 16 to 14 years and the conferral of powers on police to apprehend and detain persons for the purpose of bringing them in for compulsory questioning also requires detailed scrutiny by the Law Council, among the many other amendments," she said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/new-powers-for-asio-to-question-14-year-olds-and-go-after-foreign-spies-20200513-p54sm6.html

Repost from Q Research General #11702

>>9142697 (pb)

Coronavirus: China’s ‘bastard act’ against Australia after suspending meat imports

China has been accused of engaging in a “bastard act” against Australia, with one MP slamming the country’s actions as “bullying and coercion”.

China has been accused of engaging in “a bastard act” after it banned Australian beef exports before appearing to link the move directly with Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s inquiry into COVID-19.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian blamed the ban on violations of quarantine rules on Tuesday night, before promptly warning Australia it could face retaliation over the push for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

“Chinese customs has continuously found that multiple batches of beef products exported to China by individual Australian companies have violated the inspection and quarantine requirements,’’ he said.

When asked by an Australian journalist if he was linking the beef ban and the inquiry, he replied, “I just made it very clear”.

“They are two different things, you’re making a political interpretation”.

But Liberal-Nationals MP George Christensen said it was clear enough what was going on.

“It’s a bastard act,’’ he told news.com.au.

“My understanding is it’s about a third of Australia’s meat exports to China.

“It’s just wrong. China has just gone into full, bullying, threatening, coercion mode. That’s what I think.

The Queensland MP said China had questions to answer on the spread of the coronavirus.

But rather than engage in a “tit for tat” diplomatic debate he urged Australia to use the Chinese-owned Port of Darwin as a bargaining chip.

“There’s a lot of questions being raised now about the Port of Darwin,’’ he said.

“There is a clear clause in it that says at any point in time it’s deemed to be a national security issue that contract is null and void

“They are positioning themselves directly against us and against our national interests. Certainly, there are bargaining chips out there, like the Port of Darwin.”

Earlier, Mr Christensen told Parliament: “We can keep giving into Communist China’s threats, or we can stand up for our sovereignty and our economic independence.”

https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/coronavirus-chinas-bastard-act-against-australia-after-suspending-meat-imports/news-story/076690fc101e823426fe8c075c9e6539

>>9062596

More jail time means Gerald Ridsdale is 'likely to die in custody'

Australia’s most prolific paedophile priest, Gerald Ridsdale, is likely to die in prison after having his jail time increased again following another sentence for sexually abusing boys.

Ridsdale, due to turn 86 next week, was 25 years into a 33-year sentence and was eligible for parole in April 2022.

But his earliest release date is now April 8, 2025, after he was sentenced in the Melbourne County Court on Thursday for the abuse of another four boys in western Victoria in the 1970s.

Judge Gerard Mullaly set a maximum 10-year term with a non-parole period of four years for the 14 charges.

Taking into account Ridsdale's age and the likelihood of him dying in jail, three of those years are to be served cumulatively with the sentences he was already in jail for.

“At your age, my sentence may well mean that you are as a consequence more likely to die in custody,” Judge Mullaly said.

It brings the total number of known Ridsdale victims to 69 and known sexual offences to 179 between the years 1961 and 1988.

“You knew what you were doing was profoundly wrong and harmful but you kept doing these things to these children over and over,” Judge Mullaly said.

The sentence of Ridsdale comes a week after the unredacted findings about Cardinal George Pell from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse were released.

The commission found Cardinal Pell, who shared a home with Ridsdale in the 1970s and provided character evidence for him in court in 1993, knew nearly 40 years ago that Ridsdale was moved out of another parish to protect the church from scandal.

Cardinal Pell was not involved in any of Ridsdale's offending.

The pattern of shuffling Ridsdale – under the leadership of Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns – from parish to parish has since been proven to have only facilitated the abuse of new groups of children.

"In terms of the length of your offending it seems it only came to an end when you were moved on to a new parish which, as has been revealed, only facilitated you exploiting a new group of children," Judge Mullaly said.

Ridsdale, who uses a walking stick but is in otherwise good health, has been in prison since August 1994, a year after he was laicised by the church.

Ridsdale has been sentenced six different times from 1993 until Thursday, when he pleaded guilty to the new charges – 14 counts of indecent assault and buggery – for the abuse he committed when he was a priest in Warrnambool, Inglewood and Edenhope from 1970 until 1979.

The four boys were aged between seven and sixteen years old and most of the boys were abused for years.

He used the guise of reading the Bible to one boy to fondle his penis, and corrupted the sanctity of confession for another, pretending he was hearing the boy’s confession – alone in a bedroom of the family home – only to abuse him.

One of his victims said the abuse affected every part of his life in his statement to the court.

“I am single, alone, broke, depressed, embarrassed, forgetful, unemployed, wondering how I can afford and how I will get through tomorrow. Things would be different had this individual not been a part of my life.”

The elderly parents of two brothers both abused by Ridsdale spoke of the guilt they endured years later when they learnt what their priest had done.

“They say that they trusted their beautiful children to you without question,” Judge Mullaly said.

“They still struggle daily with a feeling of guilt. They are not to blame, only you are.”

Warning: Distressing and graphic content

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/more-jail-time-means-gerald-ridsdale-is-likely-to-die-in-custody-20200514-p54sxy.html

George Papadopoulos Tweet

Alexander Downer and Joseph Mifsud are the next clowns to be exposed. It’s going to be glorious and a great day for America

https://twitter.com/GeorgePapa19/status/1260697180836433928

Assange’s extradition: September 7 set for resumption of delayed hearing, WikiLeaks says

“A date of September 7 has been set for the resumption of Julian Assange’s delayed extradition hearing,” WikiLeaks tweeted on Wednesday. A court location has yet to be determined, it said.

A London court said on May 4 that the US extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Assange would resume in September. It had been postponed from later this month because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Assange is wanted by US authorities to stand trial for conspiring to hack government computers and espionage. The extradition case began in February for a week before being adjourned until May 18 for another three weeks of arguments, Reuters said.

The Australian citizen, 48, says he could spend decades in prison if convicted, and calls the case against him political and a threat to free speech. The US says he put the lives of informants in danger by publishing secret diplomatic cables. Assange was dragged from Ecuador’s embassy in London last April after spending seven years there in a bid to avoid being sent to the US.

https://www.rt.com/newsline/488530-assange-extradition-september-date/

https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1260503746376806402

Keep up the fantastic work, Aussie Baker! o7

WWG1WGA!

Downer may face scrutiny in US probe

Alexander Downer's role in sparking what US President Donald Trump called "the biggest political crime and scandal in the history of the USA" is set to be examined by a powerful US Senate committee.

Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced on Thursday he will lead in-depth hearings next month into the FBI's controversial counterintelligence Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

The FBI launched the covert probe into Trump-Russia links in July 2016 after Downer alleged former Trump aide George Papadopoulos told him at a London bar Russia might use damaging information on presidential candidate Hillary Clinton ahead of the November 2016 election.

"The Judiciary Committee will begin holding multiple, in-depth congressional hearings regarding all things related to Crossfire Hurricane starting in early June," Graham said.

Trump has publicly pressured Graham to hold a hearing into what he has dubbed the "Russia Hoax".

In a Thursday morning tweet the president called for his predecessor, Barack Obama, to be a witness.

"If I were a Senator or Congressman, the first person I would call to testify about the biggest political crime and scandal in the history of the USA, by FAR, is former President Obama," Trump wrote.

"He knew EVERYTHING.

"Do it @LindseyGrahamSC, just do it.

"No more Mr. Nice Guy."

US Special Counsel Bob Mueller concluded in his report into potential Trump-Russian ties that the London bar meeting between Downer and Papadopoulos prompted the FBI to open Crossfire Hurricane two months later.

Downer was Australia's high commissioner to the UK at the time.

Downer claims Papadopoulos told him over gin and tonics "the Russians might use material that they have on Hillary Clinton in the lead-up to the election, which may be damaging".

Papadopoulos, who was sentenced to a 14-day prison sentence in 2018 for lying to the FBI, denies offering the sensitive information to Downer.

Graham said the first phase of his committee's hearings will focus on the Justice Department's effort to dismiss a criminal case against Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Graham played down the prospect of Obama being called as a witness during the hearings, noting the precedent it would set.

"Both presidents are welcome to come before the committee and share their concerns about each other," Graham said.

"If nothing else it would make for great television.

"However, I have great doubts about whether it would be wise for the country."

https://au.news.yahoo.com/downer-may-face-scrutiny-us-probe-225405285–spt.html

Westpac failed to properly monitor 12 suspicious customers in AUSTRAC case

Westpac has admitted it failed to adequately monitor 12 customers who allegedly made suspicious transactions fitting the pattern of payments for child exploitation, as it also admitted to millions of anti-money laundering breaches.

In its defence to a bombshell anti-money laundering lawsuit, the bank also admitted to 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering laws, due to failures in its transaction reporting and record-keeping.

The defence, filed with the Federal Court on Friday, also challenged some of the allegations made by financial intelligence agency Austrac, which launched the explosive legal proceedings against the bank last November.

The bank denied that it did not have a compliant anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing program and denied it had failed to carry out regular assessments of its correspondent banks.

Westpac was last year thrown into turmoil when Austrac alleged more than 23 million breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Act, including the failure to vet 12 customers making payments that fit the pattern of funding child exploitation.

Austrac last year said the 12 customers, who it did not identify, made thousands of suspicious payments that could be linked to child exploitation and live child sex shows in the Philippines and other parts of south-east Asia.

Westpac's defence said each of the 12 customers did hold an account with Westpac, and it said they were the subject of "ongoing customer due diligence." However, the bank added that it "did not sufficiently monitor" the customers "with a view to identifying, mitigating and managing" the risk of child exploitation material.

Another part of Austrac's case was its claim the bank did not report 19.5 million international funds transfer instructions over nearly five years. Westpac's defence admitted these were not reported within the 10-day time limit, and pointed to problems with its computer systems from late 2011. The bank also admitted to more than 3.5 million breaches of certain record-keeping obligations.

The case also took aim at Westpac's program for meeting its AML/CTF obligations, alleging it did not have the appropriate risk-based systems and it took an inconsistent approach across the group. Westpac's defence denied this allegation, saying a 2014 Austrac review had found no evidence of non-compliance with the Act, but that it had been working on compliance "issues" between 2015 and 2019.

The Austrac lawsuit unleashed one of the biggest crises in Westpac's more-than-200-year history, sparking the resignation of former chief executive Brian Hartzer and the early departure of former chairman Lindsay Maxsted.

Westpac has signalled it intends to settle the case, and it last month took a $900 million provision for a penalty, which would be the biggest penalty in Australian corporate history.

A bank spokesman on Friday said the bank and Austrac were engaging constructively and in discussions over a statement of agreed facts and admissions.

"Westpac accepts the gravity of the issues raised by the Austrac claim and has made a large number of admissions in its response to the statement of claim," the bank said.

"Westpac acknowledges that financial crime is a serious threat to society and is determined to continue to lift its standards and meet its anti-money laundering and other financial crime obligations."

https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/westpac-admits-to-insufficient-monitoring-of-12-customers-millions-of-breaches-20200515-p54te7.html

Five governments line up legal challenge to Facebook's 'dangerous' encryption of messages between terrorists, paedophiles and criminals

Ministers from the 'Five Eyes' nations want to hold Facebook and other social media sites liable for encrypted messages between criminals

The “Five Eyes” intelligence network of nations is preparing a legal challenge to Facebook’s plan for end-to-end encryption amid fears the platform will become a haven for terrorists and paedophiles.

Ministers from the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are due to meet next week to consider legal measures to hold Facebook and other social media platforms liable for messages that could lead to serious criminality.

Facebook has refused direct appeals from Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, and US Attorney General William Barr to allow security services and police “lawful access” to messages to prevent terrorist attacks, child abuse and other criminal acts.

In a submission to the US senate in December, Chloe Squires, the Home Office’s head of national security, warned Facebook’s plans would mean the tech giant would be unable to prevent almost 3,000 children a year continuing to be “abused, raped and degraded and have their lives ruined.”

Ministers now believe Britain’s proposed new duty of care laws could be framed to allow the new regulator to impose fines or prosecute Facebook and other platforms if end-to-end encryption hampered efforts to combat terrorists or paedophiles.

The thinking was revealed by Home Office Minister Baroness Williams when asked by Yvette Cooper, chair of the home affairs committee, where it would be a breach of the proposed duty of care laws if the introduction of encryption “knowingly stops the company preventing illegal activity.”.

Baroness Williams replied: “I fully expect that that is what some of the Five Eyes discussion happening very shortly will look at.”

Facebook’s refusal to back down will also be targeted at a summit of police, Government agencies and charities called by Boris Johnson next week to discuss strategies on “hidden” harms.

Baroness Williams said that encryption “in and of itself” would not be a breach of the duty of care but failing to prevent or “allowing criminal activity to happen on your platform” would leave the tech giants liable to enforcement action.

Ministers have yet to confirm the sanctions but the White Paper proposed fines up to four cent of global turnover - which would be £2 billion for Facebook - as well as suggesting criminal prosecutions and the power for the regulator to block access to UK users.

Baroness Williams said Facebook’s encryption proposals would remove 12 million reports of child abuse to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) every year, which led to more than 2,500 arrests in the UK and 3,000 British children being safeguarded.

Facebook’s own reports showed they had acted against 26 million pieces of terrorist content between October 2017 and March 2019 including messages that under encryption neither the company nor law enforcement agencies would be able to see.

Andy Burrows, NSPCC Head of Child Safety Online Policy, welcomed the Government’s statement: “End-to-end encryption of messages engineers away the ability of platforms to moderate large parts of their sites and prevent grooming and child abuse images being shared.

“Unless tech firms can prove it doesn’t put children at risk, it’s clear that end-to-end encryption would breach the Duty of Care.

“The Government will need to make it clear that tech firms can’t hide behind encryption and if their design choices enable criminal activity against children the new regulator should hold company directors criminally accountable.”

Facebook said: “Strong encryption is critically important to keep everyone safe from hackers and criminals. The rollout of end-to-end encryption is a long-term project and we are committed to building strong safety measures into our plans.

“We have led the industry in tackling terrorism and child exploitation, including tripling the size of our safety and security team to 35,000 people in recent years, and will continue working to combat criminal activity across all our platforms.

“We look forward to more details from the government about their online harms proposals.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/15/five-governments-line-legal-challenge-facebooks-dangerous-encryption/

What is QAnon? How the coronavirus has given a voice to the bizarre, pro-Trump US fringe movement

COVID-19 has provided the unexpected breeding ground for a movement to take hold, the roots of which began with a pro-Trump conspiracy theory.

Jessica Wang - MAY 16, 2020

From baseless associations linking 5G to health risks, high-profile paedophile rings, President Donald Trump’s secret plan to arrest elites and hoax medical supplements advertised to cure COVID-19, these bizarre theories all share one thing in common.

They’ve seemingly originated from the fringe QAnon movement – a haven for conservative conspiracy theorists.

The roots of the group originated in October 2017 on the internet chat forum, 4Chan. The anonymous poster, who went by the pseudonym of ‘Q’, began sharing what appeared to be highly-classified information about the government.

One of their central beliefs, of many, is that the world is controlled by a group of anti-Trump elites. Among the group are Democrat politicians, Hollywood heavyweights, billionaires and other people of influence.

Accusation of a child sex-trafficking ring has also been thrown into the mix, as has inferences of cannibalism.

Furthermore, Q also believes President Trump has launched a secret investigation to bring these deep state elites to justice.

The group has amassed mainstream attention as well. In August 2019, QAnon became the first a fringe conspiracy group determined by the FBI to be a Domestic Terrorist Threat. In May of this year, Facebook also removed several groups, accounts and pages linked to QAnon.

Now with coronavirus top of mind, the community has been linked to some of the most harmful and dangerous myths associated with the pandemic. Closer to home, their views have also been circulated by high-profile social media accounts.

AN INFODEMIC FLAMED BY A PANDEMIC

While initially COVID-19 was believed to be a deep state plot designed to ruin President Trump’s attempts at re-election, QAnon followers have since pivoted their approach.

Writing for The Conversation, researcher of online movements, Marc-André Argentino said they now believe the pandemic to be a "cover for the Trump administration’s secret plan to arrest deep state agents".

An influencer within the QAnon community, David Hayes, or Praying Medic as he’s better known, has also called the virus “spiritual warfare,” stating that it will only affect those not chosen by God.

However, these are among the many ‘crowdsourced narratives’ from the community, wrote Hayes.

QAnon theorists have also implicated Bill Gates as a key-figure in the pandemic.

In several videos circulated by believers, they accuse the Microsoft co-founder of knowing about the pandemic and using the virus as a means to fan his 'pro-vaccine agenda'.

They alleged he knew about the pandemic due to his participation in Event 201 which looked at a high-level pandemic simulation in October 2019 as well as the fact that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have donated to the Pirbright Institute which received a coronavirus-related patent in 2002.

However, an investigation from the New York Times determined this to be misleading.

“The patent was not for COVID-19; it was connected to a potential vaccine for a different coronavirus that affects poultry,” they reported.

…..

ON HOME TURF

Whether intentional or by chance, the beliefs strongly-held within the QAnon community have reached Australia.

Last Sunday saw over 200 anti-lockdown protesters at the steps of Victoria’s Parliament House who carried signs rallying against vaccines, restriction and 5G. On social media, ideologies linked to QAnon have also been shared among high profile celebrities.

On March 26, former Married At First Sight contestant, Haley Vernom also shared a video alleging the coronavirus pandemic was a "set up by the elite".

“Stage a world crisis. Create panic and fear. Crash the global economy. Create dependency in the government,” she wrote in the caption.

“This is not just an illness this is a way to whip and align the masses and to take your freedom your choices out of your hands.”

Former My Kitchen Rules Judge Pete Evans has also shared theories which align with beliefs from QAnon community. On his Facebook group, the controversial anti-vaxxer has shared multiple posts which denounce Bill Gates and the creation of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Most pertinent, in a recent Instagram story he shared a graphic which links the arrest of high profile people to coronavirus, claiming they’ve committed “major crimes against humanity”. Despite this, Mr Evans has never made mention to QAnon.

https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/what-is-qanon-how-the-coronavirus-has-given-a-voice-to-the-bizarre-protrump-us-fringe-movement/news-story/821a1a1d69c6a85358d68f9ae863cbee

Multi-millionaire Sir Ron Brierley to plead on child porn charges, court hears

Police are only halfway through studying alleged abuse material found on the computer of multi-millionaire Sir Ron Brierley.

WARNING: Distressing content

Multi-millionaire corporate knight Sir Ron Brierley will remain holed up in his luxury mansion under strict bail conditions over child pornography charges as a Sydney court heard police say they were only half way through studying alleged abuse material on his computer.

The 82-year-old famed businessman, who is charged with six counts of possess child abuse material, was not required to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday.

A brief hearing before NSW Chief Magistrate Graeme Henson heard that police prosecutors need more time to examine material allegedly found in Sir Ron’s possession.

Last year police allege they found more than 200,000 images and 500 videos on his laptop and electronic storage devices, among which police allege was material “consistent with child abuse material”.

Chief Magistrate Henson told the court that some urgency was warranted by prosecutors given the matter had been before the courts for close on six months.

“Given the nature of the defendant I suspect they’ll be jumping up and down,” he said.

As revealed by news.com.au, the child abuse material allegations against Sir Ronald contain disturbing allegations.

Court documents seen by news.com.au reveal charges against the 82-year-old include possessing images and videos allegedly of “young girls aged between approximately two years to 15 years in sexually suggestive poses”.

Two of the six counts of possess child abuse material Sir Ron is charged with are “typed stories that spoke of the rape of children”.

The famed corporate raider is currently on strict conditional bail living in his mansion at Sydney’s most exclusive address, Wunulla Road, Point Piper.

His lawyer told the court in an earlier hearing that Sir Ronwas intending to plead not guilty to the charges, however no formal pleas have yet been entered.

Sir Ron, who is both a chairman or director of a number of companies in Australia, NZ and the UK, was stopped by Australian Border Force officers at Sydney International Airport on December 17.

Acting on a NSW Police travel alert after a six-month investigation sparked by a tip-off from a member of the public, detectives seized Sir Ron’s carry-on luggage.

Sir Ron was taken to Mascot Police Station, charged and granted bail, which Registrar James Wiseman continued on Monday.

Brierley, who emigrated to Australia from New Zealand in the 1980s, received a knighthood in 1988.

His firm Brierley Investments was once New Zealand’s biggest company with stakes in Air New Zealand and the Paris department store, Galeries Lafayette.

In Australia he forged a glittering corporate career.

He instigated takeovers of once struggling companies, such as Woolworths, which he helped transform into a multi-billion dollar chain.

He helped mentor other corporate executives, was a trustee of the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust and a patron of the arts.

Little is known about his personal life, although privately he is a keen stamp collector and avid train traveller.

He lives at the mansion Wunulla on Wunulla Road, a tree-lined street with multimillion-dollar mansions and apartments with stunning harbour views.

https://www.news.com.au/national/courts-law/multimillionaire-sir-ron-brierley-to-plead-on-child-porn-charges-court-hears/news-story/988c0cad6d20031286e081fe33c91515

Child abuse predator 'handbook' lists ways to target children during coronavirus lockdown

Australian authorities warn of significant rise in reports of child sexual abuse material under Covid-19 restrictions

Child abusers have created and shared an online grooming manual describing ways to manipulate and exploit the increased number of children at home and online during Covid-19, Australia’s e-safety commissioner has said.

Covid-19 restrictions have coincided with a significant increase in reports to the eSafety Office about child sexual abuse material, Julie Inman Grant told Guardian Australia. She said investigators had seen a jump in searches by predators on the dark web seeking information on how to abuse children.

“I think of it like bees in a hive, gathering around the honey,” Inman Grant said. “Abusers see Covid-19 as a honey pot for them, with at-risk boys and girls spending much more time at home and online, often without supervision, and often while feeling isolated and lonely.”

The Covid-19 predator handbook contained details about how to coerce children online to share sexual images and videos of themselves, she said. “The handbook advises predators to get their kicks online rather than trying to meet children face-to-face because of restrictions and heightened vigilance of law enforcement on the streets,” Inman Grant said.

Investigators had seen a marked increase in a phenomena known as “capping”, she said, where abusers took screenshots during explicit video calls and live streams with minors, and then circulated them widely or used them to coerce children.

There was an average of 670 reports per month to the commission in 2019. Data provided by the commissioner to Guardian Australia shows child sexual abuse material reports increased 27% in March and 37% in April 2020. While reports of abuse had been steadily increasing before Covid-19 restrictions, Inman Grant said there was no doubt the pandemic had contributed in part, while raising the risk of children being abused online.

“More disturbing than the stats, perhaps, is that our investigators have also seen increased chat on forums on the dark web from predators talking about how with isolation measures in place, they have greater opportunities to contact children remotely to groom them for sexual exploitation, while others observe that they have more time to abuse children,” a spokeswoman from the eSafety Office said.

“We’ve picked up other users commenting that Covid-19 is bringing more youth online to platforms such as YouTube, vlog sites, online challenges and Omegle, creating more opportunity to groom them.”

A spokesman for the Australian federal police, which runs the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, said the organisation regularly saw cases involving children and young people being targeted through social networking, image or video-sharing apps or instant messaging, where offenders encouraged the children to self-produce online exploitation material. The centre’s past six months of data show reports between October 2019 and March 2020 increased by 123% compared with the same period the previous year.

“This increased the average number of reports from 776 report per month to 1,731 reports per month,” the AFP spokesman said.

According to research commissioned by the centre, only 52% of parents or carers talked to their children about online safety. “If you are unsure about an app, game or site, research and review them yourself to understand both the positive and negative aspects,” the spokesman said.

“It is important to make children feel comfortable to approach you or another trusted adult if something isn’t right to help them deal with the issue, rather than the technology. Children may be reluctant to report issues online if they believe they will be punished or have their devices taken away.

“Supervision is recommended for younger children as well as encouraging your child to apply critical thinking skills, like questioning suspicious behaviour or ‘friend’ requests from other users online.”

Child abuse crimes were “devastating for victims and their families”, he said.

(continued)

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/14/child-abuse-predator-handbook-lists-ways-to-target-children-during-coronavirus-lockdown

Catholic brother nicknamed 'The Rat' jailed for sex abuse of four Traralgon schoolboys

Marist brother Gerard Joseph McNamara, 82, has begun his second stint in prison after pleading guilty to indecently assaulting Traralgon school boys in the 1970s.

McNamara was working at St Paul's Catholic College in Traralgon when he indecently assaulted more than 15 students between 1970 and 1975.

He abused his victims while giving them massages in the monastery, his office and a sports equipment shed, and many were targeted multiple times.

Prosecutors have described how many of the abused boys were left smelling of McNamara's massage liniment, which made them identifiable as victims and open to ridicule by their peers.

McNamara was sentenced in the Victorian County Court on Friday to 35 months in prison, with 28 months suspended, after pleading guilty to four charges of indecent assault and one count of common assault.

'The Rat' a notorious offender

McNamara was in his mid-30s and worked as headmaster and sports master at St Paul's when he sexually abused the boys.

Since 2006, he has been sentenced three times for sexual offences against pupils but, until Friday, had only served nine months in jail.

On June 17, 2006 McNamara was sentenced to 36 months in prison, wholly suspended, for indecently assaulting seven boys aged between 11 and 13.

In December 2016 he escaped jail time again when he was given a wholly suspended prison sentence for abusing two young brothers at the school back in 1975.

It was not until September 2018, when McNamara came before the courts again, that he was ordered to serve nine months in prison for assaulting four boys aged between 11 and 15 years.

Boys abused during 'sports massage'

McNamara lured his victims with the excuse of massaging them after sports injuries.

After injuring his knee, one of the boys was ordered to a sports shed for a massage when McNamara touched the boy's genitals.

The same boy was targeted another two times after games of football.

In 2018, the man revealed to his wife the details of the abuse he had suffered as a child.

A second victim, aged 13 at the time, was practicing karate when McNamara took him to a small room in the brother's quarters.

It was there where McNamara instructed the boy to remove his shirt and lay on the bed "to be examined".

McNamara went on to touch the victim's genitals.

'Why is this happening to me?'

One boy was indecently assaulted during a massage that lasted 20 minutes.

Judge Ryan said when McNamara was "done" he ordered the boy to go back to class.

"Your victim left the room and then commenced crying, wondering why this was happening to him," he said.

Another boy was ordered to leave the school corridor and go to a room in the monastery where he was directed to undress "as he needed a massage".

That assault lasted 15 minutes.

The court was told during sentencing that McNamara also punched a 13-year-old boy in the ribs.

The court heard, when McNamara was asked by police if he was sorry for what he had done, he replied that, "Times were different and I don't want to go into all the implications of that."

"I think, in a lot of cases, we do things in the way it was done to us," McNamara said.

Lives in ruin

Laird MacDonald, a lawyer at Rightside Legal, said the Marist Brothers had paid out more than $4 million in compensation to some of McNamara's victims.

"The judge said it was an open secret. He was notorious in terms of his offending," Mr MacDonald said.

"The nickname was The Rat, and he was a feared person amongst the students, and they didn't want to go anywhere near him — they knew about the sports massages [and] all those sorts of things."

Mr MacDonald said the assaults had permeated the victims' lives.

"The damage that they suffered infected all parts of their lives, ranging from sexual confusion as an adolescent, to broken relationships, alcoholism, depression, suicide attempts," he said.

"All that goes back to what Gerard McNamara did to them."

In sentencing, Judge Ryan said McNamara deliberately orchestrated situations where he could be alone with his young victims.

"It is plain, you were notorious for this type of conduct among the pupils at St Paul's College," he said.

McNamara suffers glaucoma, skin diseases, prostate cancer, anxiety and depression.

He will be eligible to be released from prison before Christmas.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-15/catholic-brother-nicknamed-the-rat-sentenced-to-jail-for-sex/12252922

Reposts from Q Research General #11772

>>9197832 (pb)

NICOLE KIDMAN "INJURED" AND WEARING A MCSTAIN-STYLE AIRCAST

Nicole Kidman's father was a known pedophile and has been accused by FIONA BARNETT of being part of a Satanic Pedophile Ring in Australia. After Fiona accused Kidman's father, he died very shortly afterwards on a trip in Singapore.

I seen these photographs on ET website when reading a report about Kieth Urban giving a free concert at a drive-in movie theater for COVID health workers:

>https://www.etonline.com/how-keith-urban-safely-performed-a-concert-for-more-than-200-healthcare-workers-exclusive-146704

Fiona Barnett sauce:

>https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/antony-kidman-dies-amidst-child-abuse-allegations,6918

---

>>9197869 (pb)

I'm looking for that Instagram photo, and found this Kieth Urban photo that was just 4 days old.

>https://www.instagram.com/p/CADyIcLpcWc/

On twitter

You're a bunch of bitches.

Never win multidimensional chess ♟

>>9086752

>>9183134

They want to control you.

Australian Federal Police tip-off leads to rescue of child sex slaves

The arrest of an Australian man with links to child abuse in the Philippines has triggered an international police bust which resulted in three children being rescued and a woman arrested.

The paedophile ring bust is part of an ongoing investigation by the Australian Federal Police into the sexual abuse of children in the Philippines.

The raid was sparked after the AFP arrested a 63-year-old Sydney man in January who is accused of live-streaming child abuse online.

An investigation by the AFP’s child-protection unit in Sydney then used intelligence provided by the financial crimes watchdog, AUSTRAC, to discover the man had made 395 transactions, totalling $113,000, to individuals in the Philippines over many years.

After a tip-off from the AFP to authorities in the Philippines, local police raided a property last Wednesday in the north of the capital, Manila.

Three children — aged six, 11 and 14 — were rescued and a 34-year-old woman was arrested on charges that she used the minors to live-stream sexual acts on the internet. Photos show Philippine authorities shielding the children and leading them out of the property.

Since 2010, the Sydney man is suspected of travelling to Manila on a regular basis to engage in criminal activities. He was in the country as recently as December last year.

The initial investigation was sparked by one of his visits to the country last year and he was later arrested and charged with producing child abuse material.

The man was granted bail in the NSW Supreme Court last month after a $30,000 surety was posted by his brother, who the court found to be an "acceptable person".

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age the operation was a strong example of Australia's key security agencies working together across borders to protect children from further harm.

“We will continue doing everything within our power to protect these children and to bring justice to these insidious offenders," Mr Dutton said.

The bust is the latest in a string of raids on properties in the Philippines uncovering child-exploitation networks, involving the payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Australia's most senior security and police chiefs have warned that communication and live-streaming on the "dark web" have been rising for years, suggesting new laws are needed to crackdown on the growing problem.

Under one plan being worked on by the Morrison government, the nation's premier foreign cyber intelligence agency — the Australian Signals Directorate — would be enlisted to help track down online paedophiles, terrorists and other serious criminals within Australia. The change could allow the AFP to call for assistance from the ASD to go after serious criminals onshore, while the government is also looking at giving police and security agencies new powers to access end-to-end encrypted content to fight online child sex abuse networks.

With more people on the internet at home during the coronavirus outbreak, AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw has also warned that communication and child-grooming attempts across the dark web have been increasing since the start of the pandemic.

Since the creation of the international law enforcement body known as the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre in February last year, 50 operations have been launched resulting in the rescue of 156 victims; 46 suspects or facilitators have been charged and three offenders convicted.

Paula Hudson, the acting AFP commander for the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation and Child Protection Operations, said the officers who investigated the latest case were determined to save the children.

“Our officers don’t stop investigating when there is a chance of rescuing a child from harm and this referral to Philippine authorities is a great example of their dedication to protecting children,” she said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/afp-tip-off-leads-to-rescue-of-child-sex-slaves-20200517-p54tn5.html

Coalition of 62 countries backs joint Australian, EU push for independent inquiry into coronavirus outbreak

A coalition of 62 countries has backed a joint Australian and European Union push for an independent inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak ahead of a crucial World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting tomorrow in Geneva.

Australia was the first nation to call for an independent inquiry into how the coronavirus started.

That drew furious condemnation from Beijing, which accused Australia of launching a political attack on China. But international support for the idea has been steadily growing.

The Morrison Government has now swung its diplomatic firepower behind the European Union, which has also been pressing for an investigation while taking a more conciliatory line with Beijing.

European nations and Australia have been rallying support for a draft EU motion which calls for an "impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation" of "the WHO-coordinated international health response to COVID-19".

As of Sunday evening, Canberra time, 62 nations — including Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Russia, South Africa and the United Kingdom — had backed the motion.

The motion does not specifically mention China or the city of Wuhan where the outbreak is believed to have begun.

But it does say the WHO should work with the World Organisation for Animal Health to conduct "scientific and collaborative field missions" and "identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population, including the possible role of intermediate hosts".

Australian Government sources said the language was strong enough to ensure that a proper and thorough investigation took place, although they are still calling this a "first step" towards ensuring transparency.

At this stage neither China nor the US have backed the motion. EU and Australian diplomats were still working on Sunday to convince both major powers to give their support.

In a statement, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said: "There is positive support for an independent review into the pandemic to help the world learn the lessons necessary to protect global health.

"Australia and a significant number of countries are co-sponsoring the EU-led resolution, which includes a call for an impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation.

"This is about collaborating to equip the international community to better prevent or counter the next pandemic and keep our citizens safe."

The EU's spokeswoman for foreign affairs, Virginie Battu-Henriksson, said the organisation was focused on reaching a consensus for an inquiry.

"Of course, we need to have the support of all the major players, and China is one of them," she told the ABC.

Meanwhile, US diplomats have been pressing for tougher language that specifically calls for a probe into how the virus started in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have both furiously denounced China's initial response to the virus, accusing it of covering up the initial outbreak and allowing it to spread around the world.

But Ms Battu-Henriksson said the EU was focused on "really getting together and finding a solution which is workable for all".

"For us, it is not the moment for us to enter any kind of blame game as we've seen in narratives from one part or another of the world," she said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-17/coronavirus-inquiry-world-health-assembly-china-covid-19/12256910

Q Post #4277

May 17 2020 18:33:12 (EST) NEW

https://twitter.com/EYEDROPMEDIA/status/1262146618419183616

WWG1WGA!!!

Q

—

EYE DROP MEDIA Tweet

#WWG1WGA #TheGreatAwakening #BeReady #RedPilled

#WWG1WGAWORLDWIDE #InItTogetherWorldWide

Follow @RedPilledisBACK #InItTogether #QArmy

#WeAreInThisTogether #QArmyWorldwide #QAnon

It's BIGGER than anyone can imagine!

THE GREAT AWAKENING WORLDWIDE

#QANONWORLDWIDE

Sound up

https://twitter.com/EYEDROPMEDIA/status/1262146618419183616

—

June Lorraine Lee Tweet

Brand new to TWITTER

Finally AWAKE thanks to my son whose been fighting the fight since DJT and Melania descend the escalator.

They never thought that she would lose

Now they all LOSE

#Q+

#WWG1WGA #GreatAwakening #Australia #QArmy #BillGatesIsEvil #EpsteinDidntKillHimself

https://twitter.com/JuneLorraineLe1/status/1257149465460277250

>>9221671

>>9203480

Dumb fucks fell for the meek and mild

>>9203480

>>9221671

>>9221834

Team only went on twitter to coax out the (((bloodlines)))

And to laugh at the fat orange cunt with nuclear weapons

Not so much of a mystery now, is it?

>>9221869

>>9221869

All because not one Jew on this whole planet 🌍 will admit that some Jews are cunts.

Collective suicide for 14,6 gorillion jews

Twitter is trump and Clinton getting fucked by Bibi 🍼 in the ass as all the kings and queens laugh their heads off.

>>9203016

And refused to share three scoops

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Twitter Thread

Sarah Ferguson @SarahTheDuchess

On International Family Day .. I am so proud of our united loving family #InternationalFamilyDay

—

Jules @kyriosgirl

Lovely family. Andrew looks well which is nice to see after all you must have been through take care all of you and God bless you.

—

Kate St Leger @DrogemullerKate

You must be unwell to ignore this mans involvement with paedophilia!!! Shame on you

—

Lankester Merrin @odilonross

Its possible he was targeted and framed. I dont know enough to really know but OBVIOUSLY he would be a top target.

—

Jules @kyriosgirl

To be fair the worst he may have done is engage with a 17 year old girl. That's not illegal. Millions of men do that. The rest is speculation and the world is trying to destroy him with their kangaroo keyboard warrior court!

—

Virginia Giuffre @VRSVirginia

May I introduce myself to you? I am THAT 17yr old girl. I was someone’s daughter, I was a kid. I was a trafficked teen to billionaires & royalty. I am Virginia Roberts. At worst that man did not just have sex with a 17 yr old girl & he & many more gave me eternal scars. #Abusers

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1262305799243628544

>>9209322

*more than one person wins multidimensional chess

Martin and QAnon has put 7,7bn People in quarantine

Team is banned from twitter

Aussies in East London

CosmicLol@protonmail.com

>>9221999

I’ve definitely fucked a 17 year old and my last girlfriend was 25 and Spanish.

Big deal

This is how and why trump lost

>>9227091