Wednesday 12 June 2013
Snowden Checked Out ?
According to reports from the BBC, Edward Snowden has vanished from his Hong Kong hotel room. Ex-CIA employee Snowden, 29, was not expected to check out and the move has taken many by surprise. His whereabouts are unknown and thus far he has not made contact with anyone as to his plans.
Snowden who is on record as saying he had:
“an obligation to help free people from oppression”
He is being investigated regarding the leaks and the case has been referred to the Department of Justice as a criminal matter.
An online petition on the White House website has so far gotten 30,000 signatures calling for an immediate pardon for Snowden, though sadly, an opinion poll commissioned by the Washington Post reveals that the majority of American Citizens think that this kind of intrusive phone monitoring is acceptable if it is aimed at fighting terrorism.
The implications of Snowdens’ leaks have reverberated around the globe with similar allegations being leveled at GCHQ (Government Communication Headquarters) in the UK.
Before fleeing to Hong Kong Snowden said:
“The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything. With this capability, the vast majority of human communications are automatically ingested without targeting. I don’t want to live in a society that does these sorts of things. I do not want to live in a world where everything I say and do is recorded…. We have seen enough criminality on behalf of the government, it is hypocritical to make this allegation against me.”
Hong Kong does have an extradition treaty with the US though a standard US visa lasts for 90 days, he is believed to have arrived in Hong Kong on May 20th.
He has recently said that he fears his actions could put him in jail and he is worried about his family and friends being sucked into the affair. His vanishing without warning from the Mira Hotel has concerned those close to him.
On Thursday, the Washington Post and Guardian said the NSA tapped directly into the servers of nine internet firms including Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to track online communication in a program known as Prism.
All the internet companies deny giving the US government access to their servers.
Prism is said to give the NSA and FBI access to emails, web chats and other communications directly from the servers of major US internet companies.
Other major US Security Leaks
Pentagon papers, 1971: Daniel Ellsberg leaks study showing the government had knowledge it was unlikely to win Vietnam war
Watergate, 1972: Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein reveal extent of cover-up over burglary at Democrat National Committee HQ
Iran-Contra affair, 1986: Iranian cleric reveals illegal US arms sales to Iran, the proceeds of which are later used to fund Nicaraguan Contras
Valerie Plame, 2003: Ms Plame is revealed to be an undercover CIA agent, ending her covert career
Abu Ghraib, 2004: Publication of pictures showing abuse of detainees at Iraq prison by US officials turns initial media reports of abuse into full-blown scandal
Bradley Manning, 2010: The soldier downloads thousands of classified documents from military servers and hands them over to Wikileaks
Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
Contributed by Chris Carrington of The Daily Sheeple.
Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up!
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Monday 10 June 2013
Bob Bellew the Abusing Coach Walks Free From Court
Will this paedophile ever be jailed? Gym coach who abused girls for 40 years is spared prison for a SECOND TIME... despite Solicitor General's plea for a harsher sentence
Bob Bellew admitted eight child sex offences in schools and gyms
He was handed 15-months suspended sentence after showing remorse
Judges reject CPS appeal to increase term because it's not 'unduly lenient'
Victims say courts 'favour' the abuser above those who were attacked
Anger: Bob Bellew was given a 15-month suspended sentence in April for abusing young girls, but High Court judges refused to increase it today
A renowned gymnastics coach who abused students as young as six over 40 years has avoided jail for the second time.
Robert 'Bob' Bellew, 66, admitted attacking girls at schools and gyms across the country, but was given a 15-month suspended prison sentence in April after a judge said he had shown remorse.
The pensioner, who served on a committee planning London 2012, admitted seven counts of indecent assault and one of sexual activity with a child.
His victims were outraged and the Crown Prosecution Service then appealed to try to get him thrown in jail.
But three senior judges at London's Appeal Court have now rejected a bid by the Solicitor General, Oliver Heald QC, to jail Bellew at the second time of asking and to increase his sentence, because they believed his 15-month suspended term 'was not unduly lenient.'
Speaking after the hearing, one of Bellew's victims and her family slammed the courts for 'favouring' the abuser over those he had 'scarred for the rest of their lives'.
During the Appeal Court hearing Lady Justice Rafferty, who was among the three judges considering the CPS's application, said Bellew's shining reputation was 'shattered' after it emerged he had molested seven girls between the early 1970s and 2010, often using coaching sessions as a cover for his abuse.
The appeal judge said the former Community Coach of the Year lifted the leotards of some girls, rubbing and touching their genitals, grabbing one's bottom and molesting another while she performed a handstand.
Lady Justice Rafferty said one of Bellew's first victims said she was terrified of telling anyone of his unwanted advances 'because he was her coach and others trusted him.'
Bellew, of New Cross, in south-east London, made one gymnast sit on his lap and rubbed her groin, saying 'these were the muscles which she needed to work on', before patting her bottom, the appeal judge said.
Referring to statements made by his victims, Lady Justice Rafferty said: 'Some endure difficulties still in trusting men and, in general, each victim feels that her personal relationships have been affected by what she has had to endure.'
Decision: Judges at the high Court said the sentence was not 'unduly lenient', to the fury of the gymnastic teacher's victims
When sentencing him April, Judge Joanna Korner spared Bellew jail, suspending his sentence for two years after saying his case called for 'mercy' from the court.
Duncan Atkinson, for the Solicitor General, argued that the judge ought to have imposed a term above two years - which would have excluded the possibility of a suspension.
He said: 'Bellew was entrusted to be with these young girls by their families to benefit them through gymnastics training. It was, as the sentencing judge recognised, a gross breach of trust and this was not reflected in the sentence imposed.'
Mr Atkinson said Bellew had since received a caution for witness intimidation after writing a letter to one of his victims after proceeedings.
But while Mr Barry Kogan, for Bellew, accepted the sentence was short, he denied it was excessively soft.
He said: 'A total of 15 months was arguably somewhat on the lenient side but not unduly so. Further, there was indeed sufficient mitigation before the judge to justify her decision to make the suspended sentence order she did.'
Backing: Lady Justice Rafferty agreed with the first judge, Judge Joanna Korner, and said: 'We are not inclined to disturb the 15 months on which this judge settled'
The barrister said Bellew suffered from a heart condition and psychological problems as a result of the proceedings and argued his mitigation 'outweighed' the aggravating factors of the case.
'He is a broken man and I don't think he will ever recover. He has lost his life's work and, as the sentencing judge accepted quite openly, that, in some sense, was a severe sentence in itself,' Mr Kogan added.
Application: The Solicitor General, Oliver Heald QC, failed in the attempt to have Bellew's sentenced increased
Lady Justice Rafferty, sitting with Mr Justice Keith and Judge Jeremy Goss QC, rejected claims that the length of sentence was simply too short.
'Whilst some judges might well have imposed a term of more than 15 months, we are not inclined to disturb the 15 months on which this judge settled,' she added.
The appeal judge admitted the court had 'struggled' to decide whether Bellew should have been caged but ultimately rejected the solicitor general's challenge against the suspension.
'After significant anxiety, we have concluded that the term of 15 months suspended for two years was not unduly lenient,' she concluded.
Speaking after the hearing, one of Bellew's victims said she felt let down by the justice system after watching the paedophile twice walk free.
She said: 'I don't think I would come forward and complain again.
'It is nothing to do with what the police have done, but the judges - they favour the abusers rather than the people who have been abused.'
Her mother slammed the decision, saying she felt furious that Bellew was free to walk the streets after inflicting so much pain and suffering on his victims.
She said: 'This is going to affect others who want to come forward. They are going to reference this case and refuse to come forward and another paedophile is going to get away with it again.
'We could have taken this into our own hands. If my husband had done that, he would have gone to prison. We have tried to do the right thing and this is what happens.'
By MARTIN ROBINSON
PUBLISHED: 11:14, 10 June 2013 | UPDATED: 13:13, 10 June 2013
Bob Bellew admitted eight child sex offences in schools and gyms
He was handed 15-months suspended sentence after showing remorse
Judges reject CPS appeal to increase term because it's not 'unduly lenient'
Victims say courts 'favour' the abuser above those who were attacked
Anger: Bob Bellew was given a 15-month suspended sentence in April for abusing young girls, but High Court judges refused to increase it today
A renowned gymnastics coach who abused students as young as six over 40 years has avoided jail for the second time.
Robert 'Bob' Bellew, 66, admitted attacking girls at schools and gyms across the country, but was given a 15-month suspended prison sentence in April after a judge said he had shown remorse.
The pensioner, who served on a committee planning London 2012, admitted seven counts of indecent assault and one of sexual activity with a child.
His victims were outraged and the Crown Prosecution Service then appealed to try to get him thrown in jail.
But three senior judges at London's Appeal Court have now rejected a bid by the Solicitor General, Oliver Heald QC, to jail Bellew at the second time of asking and to increase his sentence, because they believed his 15-month suspended term 'was not unduly lenient.'
Speaking after the hearing, one of Bellew's victims and her family slammed the courts for 'favouring' the abuser over those he had 'scarred for the rest of their lives'.
During the Appeal Court hearing Lady Justice Rafferty, who was among the three judges considering the CPS's application, said Bellew's shining reputation was 'shattered' after it emerged he had molested seven girls between the early 1970s and 2010, often using coaching sessions as a cover for his abuse.
The appeal judge said the former Community Coach of the Year lifted the leotards of some girls, rubbing and touching their genitals, grabbing one's bottom and molesting another while she performed a handstand.
Lady Justice Rafferty said one of Bellew's first victims said she was terrified of telling anyone of his unwanted advances 'because he was her coach and others trusted him.'
Bellew, of New Cross, in south-east London, made one gymnast sit on his lap and rubbed her groin, saying 'these were the muscles which she needed to work on', before patting her bottom, the appeal judge said.
Referring to statements made by his victims, Lady Justice Rafferty said: 'Some endure difficulties still in trusting men and, in general, each victim feels that her personal relationships have been affected by what she has had to endure.'
Decision: Judges at the high Court said the sentence was not 'unduly lenient', to the fury of the gymnastic teacher's victims
When sentencing him April, Judge Joanna Korner spared Bellew jail, suspending his sentence for two years after saying his case called for 'mercy' from the court.
Duncan Atkinson, for the Solicitor General, argued that the judge ought to have imposed a term above two years - which would have excluded the possibility of a suspension.
He said: 'Bellew was entrusted to be with these young girls by their families to benefit them through gymnastics training. It was, as the sentencing judge recognised, a gross breach of trust and this was not reflected in the sentence imposed.'
Mr Atkinson said Bellew had since received a caution for witness intimidation after writing a letter to one of his victims after proceeedings.
But while Mr Barry Kogan, for Bellew, accepted the sentence was short, he denied it was excessively soft.
He said: 'A total of 15 months was arguably somewhat on the lenient side but not unduly so. Further, there was indeed sufficient mitigation before the judge to justify her decision to make the suspended sentence order she did.'
Backing: Lady Justice Rafferty agreed with the first judge, Judge Joanna Korner, and said: 'We are not inclined to disturb the 15 months on which this judge settled'
The barrister said Bellew suffered from a heart condition and psychological problems as a result of the proceedings and argued his mitigation 'outweighed' the aggravating factors of the case.
'He is a broken man and I don't think he will ever recover. He has lost his life's work and, as the sentencing judge accepted quite openly, that, in some sense, was a severe sentence in itself,' Mr Kogan added.
Application: The Solicitor General, Oliver Heald QC, failed in the attempt to have Bellew's sentenced increased
Lady Justice Rafferty, sitting with Mr Justice Keith and Judge Jeremy Goss QC, rejected claims that the length of sentence was simply too short.
'Whilst some judges might well have imposed a term of more than 15 months, we are not inclined to disturb the 15 months on which this judge settled,' she added.
The appeal judge admitted the court had 'struggled' to decide whether Bellew should have been caged but ultimately rejected the solicitor general's challenge against the suspension.
'After significant anxiety, we have concluded that the term of 15 months suspended for two years was not unduly lenient,' she concluded.
Speaking after the hearing, one of Bellew's victims said she felt let down by the justice system after watching the paedophile twice walk free.
She said: 'I don't think I would come forward and complain again.
'It is nothing to do with what the police have done, but the judges - they favour the abusers rather than the people who have been abused.'
Her mother slammed the decision, saying she felt furious that Bellew was free to walk the streets after inflicting so much pain and suffering on his victims.
She said: 'This is going to affect others who want to come forward. They are going to reference this case and refuse to come forward and another paedophile is going to get away with it again.
'We could have taken this into our own hands. If my husband had done that, he would have gone to prison. We have tried to do the right thing and this is what happens.'
By MARTIN ROBINSON
PUBLISHED: 11:14, 10 June 2013 | UPDATED: 13:13, 10 June 2013
Tuesday 28 May 2013
SPY ON EVERY FUCKER
People who suspect their neighbours may be extremists should inform the security services because “the enemy is everywhere”, the former head of MI5 has said.
Dame Stella Rimington invoked the wartime spirit as she said the public had a duty to act as the “eyes and ears” of the security services in combating terrorists.
She made the plea as she warned that MI5 could not be expected to spot every danger and that further attacks were likely unless Britain wanted a “Stasi” state where everyone was monitored.
She also warned against using drones to gather intelligence saying they should only be “weapons of war”.
Dame Stella, MI5’s first female chief, was speaking at The Telegraph Hay Festival in the aftermath of the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby by alleged Islamist fanatics in Woolwich last Wednesday.
The 25-year-old soldier was allegedly hacked to death by Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, in a suspected anti-Western attack.
It was the worst apparent terrorist atrocity on UK soil since the July 7 London bombings in 2005.
It emerged today that Mr Adebolajo made a second attempt to travel to Somalia to join extremist groups after failing in 2010, and the former Home Secretary, Jack Straw, warned that threats to ban extremist preachers from television would act as a “recruiting sergeant” for extremists and damage democracy.
Meanwhile a 10th man was arrested in connection with Drummer Rigby’s death while three others previously detained were released on police bail.
The atrocity has raised serious questions for MI5 after it emerged both suspects were known to them for up to a decade. Mr Adebolajo had been detained in Kenya in 2010 trying to join the al-Shabaab terrorist group in neighbouring Somalia. Friends claimed MI5 tried to recruit him as an informant when he returned.
The parliamentary intelligence and security committee is now conducting an inquiry to examine whether there were any intelligence failings that could have prevented the atrocity.
Dame Stella, 78, who was at Hay to promote her latest spy novel, The Geneva Trap, revived images of the Second World War when she urged the public to do their bit. She said it was impossible for the security services to spot every risk, especially amid the growing threat of people radicalising themselves over the internet.
Speaking to Gaby Wood, the Telegraph's head of books, the former spy master said: “The community has the responsibility to act as the eyes and ears, as they did during the war … where there were all these posters up saying the walls have ears and the enemy is everywhere.” She said: “There have often been indications in the community, whether it’s Muslim or anywhere else, that people are becoming extremists and spouting hate phrases.”
Dame Stella said the alleged ideology behind the Woolwich killing made it a “terrorist attack”. She said the nature of the al-Qaeda threat, whose strongholds in Pakistan and Afghanistan have been weakened, meant such ideologies had become “rooted in certain parts of society”. That was more difficult to deal with, she said.
She defended her former service and said the public had to accept there was a risk people would slip through the net. There were “thousands” of people being radicalised in the UK, which meant MI5 had to prioritise the greatest dangers. The alternative was to have a “police state”.
The former MI5 chief also warned against the expanding use of drones, saying: “Drones are a weapon of war and at the moment they’re being operated by security services.”
She also revealed how she and her family had to be moved to a secret address after a member of an active IRA cell in London was found with a copy of her home address in his pocket.
Source: telegraph.co.uk
Dame Stella Rimington invoked the wartime spirit as she said the public had a duty to act as the “eyes and ears” of the security services in combating terrorists.
She made the plea as she warned that MI5 could not be expected to spot every danger and that further attacks were likely unless Britain wanted a “Stasi” state where everyone was monitored.
She also warned against using drones to gather intelligence saying they should only be “weapons of war”.
Dame Stella, MI5’s first female chief, was speaking at The Telegraph Hay Festival in the aftermath of the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby by alleged Islamist fanatics in Woolwich last Wednesday.
The 25-year-old soldier was allegedly hacked to death by Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, in a suspected anti-Western attack.
It was the worst apparent terrorist atrocity on UK soil since the July 7 London bombings in 2005.
It emerged today that Mr Adebolajo made a second attempt to travel to Somalia to join extremist groups after failing in 2010, and the former Home Secretary, Jack Straw, warned that threats to ban extremist preachers from television would act as a “recruiting sergeant” for extremists and damage democracy.
Meanwhile a 10th man was arrested in connection with Drummer Rigby’s death while three others previously detained were released on police bail.
The atrocity has raised serious questions for MI5 after it emerged both suspects were known to them for up to a decade. Mr Adebolajo had been detained in Kenya in 2010 trying to join the al-Shabaab terrorist group in neighbouring Somalia. Friends claimed MI5 tried to recruit him as an informant when he returned.
The parliamentary intelligence and security committee is now conducting an inquiry to examine whether there were any intelligence failings that could have prevented the atrocity.
Dame Stella, 78, who was at Hay to promote her latest spy novel, The Geneva Trap, revived images of the Second World War when she urged the public to do their bit. She said it was impossible for the security services to spot every risk, especially amid the growing threat of people radicalising themselves over the internet.
Speaking to Gaby Wood, the Telegraph's head of books, the former spy master said: “The community has the responsibility to act as the eyes and ears, as they did during the war … where there were all these posters up saying the walls have ears and the enemy is everywhere.” She said: “There have often been indications in the community, whether it’s Muslim or anywhere else, that people are becoming extremists and spouting hate phrases.”
Dame Stella said the alleged ideology behind the Woolwich killing made it a “terrorist attack”. She said the nature of the al-Qaeda threat, whose strongholds in Pakistan and Afghanistan have been weakened, meant such ideologies had become “rooted in certain parts of society”. That was more difficult to deal with, she said.
She defended her former service and said the public had to accept there was a risk people would slip through the net. There were “thousands” of people being radicalised in the UK, which meant MI5 had to prioritise the greatest dangers. The alternative was to have a “police state”.
The former MI5 chief also warned against the expanding use of drones, saying: “Drones are a weapon of war and at the moment they’re being operated by security services.”
She also revealed how she and her family had to be moved to a secret address after a member of an active IRA cell in London was found with a copy of her home address in his pocket.
Source: telegraph.co.uk
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