Crime

Most Australian children have evaded the government’s ban on social media for under-16s, a new survey has found.

Now that is just astonishing, isn’t it?

“Colonia Dignidad must be treated as what it is: a site where crimes against humanity were committed,” said Margarita Romero, the president of the Asociación por la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos Colonia Dignidad, whose sister was detained at the site under the Pinochet dictatorship.

“It is not just about preserving a place, but about ensuring the material conditions for the search for truth and the advancement of justice.”

OK.

Attempts to excavate and investigate the commune proceeded fitfully but relatives of the disappeared took heart last year when then president Gabriel Boric signed a decree to expropriate 117 hectares (289 acres) and create a memorial to the victims.

So the site must be stolen then?

Now the government of Chile’s new far-right president, José Antonio Kast, has announced plans to “reverse” the expropriation, which included residential areas of Villa Baviera and Schäfer’s former home, where key documentation linking the site to its role as a detention centre was found.

It’s “far-right” not to steal 300 acres?

I get a whiff of Ms. Romero being pissed at seeing a well funded gig disappearing here but then I am evil and cynical like that.

The decision leaves the future of the former enclave in the balance. Villa Baviera will remain in the hands of the current landowners, a mixture of the descendants of the original German settlers and Chilean families who moved to the area, with Chile’s opposition criticising the move to scrap expropriation plans entirely rather than pause them.

Kulaks still have land is the problem perhaps?

Much of the trafficking on Facebook and Instagram was happening in non-public areas of the platforms, such as Facebook Messenger and private Instagram accounts, I would learn later. Traffickers were searching for teens to target and groom, and to later advertise to sex buyers.

Sex trafficking is the use of force, fraud or coercion in the buying and selling of non-consensual sex acts, whether or not travel is involved. Under international law, children cannot legally consent to any kind of sex act, therefore anyone who profits from or pays for a sex act from a child – including profiting from or paying for photographs depicting sexual exploitation – is considered a human trafficker.

I have no dount that what I would call sex trafficking – the capture, transportation and sale of children for the purpose of rape – dopes happen and that some of it gets discussed or even organised upon Facebook. I’d think it’s a fairly rare crime as there aren’t all that many people who get off on raping children.

But do you see how they’ve elided that definition of sex trafficking? So, kids cannot consent. Piccies – because no consent – defined as exploitation. So, selling piccies of a 17 year old showing her nekkid titties is sex trafficking.

I’m even willing to be persuaded that flogging piccies of 17 year old nekkid titties is a problem but I’d still insist that it’s something very different indeed from sex trafficking.

I was able to pull transcripts of sale negotiations for teen girls that traffickers were engaging in on Facebook Messenger, the private messaging function. In exhibit documents, there were pictures of trafficking victims being advertised for sale in Instagram’s Stories function. Money and logistics had been discussed. In the cases we found, none of these crimes had been detected or flagged by Meta.

And that’s a wholly different issue. How much is the phone company responsible for crimes planned in phone calls?

Three people charged over alleged arson attack on Jewish charity ambulances in London
Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, and a 17-year-old boy

The form, background, of those names is a big surprise, right?

Still, the number of people I’ve seen claiming that this was all a false flag operation, that it was done by The Joooos so as to summat or other. I was actually surprised – wihch, given the number of years we’ve all been looking at politics around here is odd – at how many complete morons and truly vile antisemites there are out there.

Badger bandit last seen in Wetherspoons

It’s a bird who took a stuffed badger for a walk having lifted it from the pub next door. Rather than, as I at first suspected, Scott Mills being spotted drowing his sorrows in a Weatherspoons.

Trans panic is a variation of the gay panic defence, which is a tactic used in murder and assault cases to blame the victim rather than the attacker. In the UK it’s sometimes known as the Portsmouth Defence. It argues that if a straight person experiences sexual advances from someone who is gay, or has sexual activity with someone they then discover is trans, any ordinary person would be so horrified, outraged and disgusted that they would lose control and beat, stab or shoot the gay or trans person. It’s been abolished as a legitimate defence tactic in courts in many countries, but in the UK it’s been enshrined in law.

We also have laws that say that if you pretend to be something you’re not then completing a sexual advance under such terms could be rape. So, sorta, you know….

They said Daedone and Cherwitz, 45, used economic, sexual and psychological abuse and intimidation and indoctrination to force OneTaste members into sexual acts they found uncomfortable or repulsive, such as having sex with prospective investors or clients.

The two told followers the questionable acts were necessary in order to obtain “freedom” and “enlightenment” – and to demonstrate their commitment to the company’s principles.

One of Daedone’s lawyers, meanwhile, cast her as a “ceiling-shattering feminist entrepreneur” who created a unique business centered on women’s sexuality and empowerment.

That second claim, unique etc. Sure, could be true. On the other hand honeypot is hardly new, is it?

Daedone co-founded OneTaste in San Francisco in 2004 as a sort of self-help commune that viewed female orgasms as key to sexual and psychological wellness and interpersonal connection.

A centerpiece was “orgasmic meditation”, or “OM”, which was carried out by men manually stimulating women in a group setting.

The company enjoyed glowing media coverage in the 2010s as a cutting-edge enterprise that prioritized women’s sexual pleasure, and it quickly opened outposts from Los Angeles to London.

I recall some of that glowing coverage and yep, it did always sound pretty odd.

Fortunately, I have no idea who any of these people are, so plugged into popular culture I am. But:

The BBC has been plunged into a new crisis after sacking the Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills over allegations about his personal conduct.

Mills, who hosted Britain’s most popular radio breakfast show, was blindsided by the decision to take him off the air last Tuesday. The corporation has opted to terminate his contact after claims made against him.

And:

Scott Mills was questioned in 2018 over allegations of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy but the investigation was later closed due to lack of evidence.

The Metropolitan Police said a man, who was in his 40s at the time of the interview, was investigated over allegations reported to have happened between 1997 and 2000.

So, before he started at the BBC. Also, before the change in the age of consent, from 18 to 16, in 2000.

Rather a lot depends upon that definition of “teenage” therefore. We talking of a gay man in his 20s with a twink boyfriend of 16 or summat? Or man in mid-20s raping a 12 year old? There’s quite a difference between those really….

The holiday flat near(ish) the Roman ruins of Pompeii was “disgusting”, and smelled of “a mix of dampness and sewage”, according to one reviewer on Google Maps. I never visited, but I gave it five stars.

I did the same for a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel across the River Thames, an Ibis budget hotel in east London that is part of the Accor group, a central Travelodge and the nearby Hyatt Place – some of the best-known hotel brands in the world. Scattered in there were requests for reviews for hostels and B&Bs in Genova, Naples, Maastricht, Krakow and Brussels. For a few days I had a new job: writing fake reviews on Google Maps in exchange for cryptocurrency.

OK, very boring, been going on a long time. $5 a review, that sort of level. Great money if you’ve good English and live in Manila, not so much around here. Naught, obvs, but $10 an hour is $10 an hour, right?

So, anyway, we get 1500 words of how terrible this all is and why could people be doing it etc? Then:

The channels post a steady stream of “work” from 8am to 7pm UK time: up to 14 reviews, paid initially at $5 per review. These are interspersed with “business tasks”, where the worker sends cryptocurrency, and the employers send back the same amount with a healthy commission added on top.

That’s why, obviously.

Victoria said the only way for me to continue would be to carry out a “business task”, which consisted of paying $50 and receiving $60 back.

A table regularly published on the channel helpfully laid out what I could expect if I kept on: ever-increasing payments would win ever-increasing awards, peaking at $16,000 for an initial outlay of $10,000.

So, fairly standard scam then.

Four ambulances belonging to the Jewish community ambulance service have been set on fire in Golders Green, with police saying they were treating the incident as an “antisemitic hate crime”.

Does seem likely….

A transgender volunteer Metropolitan Police officer who attacked a 12-year-old girl will be sent to a male prison for 24 years.
James Bubb, who now identifies as a woman under the name Gwyn Samuels, was found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting the girl after a trial last summer.

In England, at least, rape is a crime that can only be committed with a penis. Someone with a penis ghoes to a male jail. Seems fair, no?

Utah woman who wrote book on grief after husband’s death found guilty of murdering him

The redress schemes for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal have “serious structural failings”, a parliamentary committee has found.

Still not jailed the entire board of directors yet so of course there are significacnt failings.

Three Norwegian brothers arrested over US embassy blast in Oslo

Hmm.

Three Norwegian brothers have been arrested on suspicion of a “terrorist bombing” at the US embassy in Oslo that caused minor damage at the weekend but no injuries.

Oh, right.

The police prosecutor Christian Hatlo told a press conference that the brothers, who were Norwegian citizens of Iraqi origin,

Ah, the New Vikings.

Gordon Brown calls for international criminal court for crimes against children

Just, umm, have you spoken to Jess Phillips about this yet?

Gerry Adams was identified by Sir John Major as a member of the IRA’s army council, according to US files seen by The Telegraph.
In a diplomatic cable, the then prime minister is reported to have said that Mr Adams was on the council, which directed the activities of the paramilitary group. Another memo also identifies Mr Adams as a senior IRA commander.

Which did lead to the Greatest Tweet Of All Time.

Adams put up some whinge about how long it takes to go around turning all the Christmas lights off. To get the response “Surely you know someone who can set a timer?”

An increasingly acrimonious spat between Hungary and Ukraine has escalated further, as Budapest impounded two Ukrainian armoured bank vehicles carrying millions of euros of hard cash as well as bars of gold.

Hungary’s national tax and customs administration said it had opened a money-laundering investigation over the shipment, which it said was made up of $40m and €35m in cash, as well as 9kg of gold. It said one of those arrested was “a former Ukrainian intelligence service general”.

Umm

Oschadbank, Ukraine’s state savings bank, said its staff were transporting cash and gold between between Austria and Ukraine in a “routine trip”, carried out by land because of restrictions on air travel in Ukraine.

And, well, it’s true. People do, wholly legitimately, ship cash and gold around. The cash you can buy at an exchange kiosk must come from somewhere after all. But, you know

Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse believe British police are failing them, a former top prosecutor has said.

Nazir Afzal, who prosecuted grooming gangs in northern England, said there has been quick action when state interests are involved while allegations of harm to women have been ignored.

Epstein shagged – or caused to have shagged – some handful of mostly over the age of consent birds. Not nice in his treatment of birds, no. But not exactly a crime shrieking out to the very heavens for vengeance. The British political establishment is very much quieter about those grooming gangs which is one of those crimes so shrieking.

So, er, very good joke there Nazir, very good joke.

Peter Mandelson has been released on bail …..The Met has been investigating allegations that he leaked Downing Street emails and market-sensitive information to the disgraced US financier during his time as business secretary.

The current nonsense of a society seems more concerned about the Prince getting his knob polished by a 17 year old than someone in Cabinet actually passing along papers. But this ‘ere – if it’s true of course, all is stoutly denied – is potentially a real crime.

The Benin Bronzes were made from the manillas used in payment for slaves. They therefore should be part of the reparations by Nigeria for those sold into slavery.

We should give them all to Dianne Abbot.