#AceNewsReport – Jan.18: The mountainous Appalachians will likely see the worst of the storm, with snow totals of up to 18 inches, but the impact could be widespread and severe as far south as Atlanta, where snow is rare and roads are notoriously difficult to clear.
#AceWeatherDesk says according to MailOnline News Report: Snow is also expected in parts of North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia from the powerful weather system barreling in from Canada known as a ‘Saskatchewan screamer.’
‘A strong developing storm over the Lower Mississippi Valley will move eastward to the Southeast by Sunday morning then head northeastward to the northern Mid-Atlantic by Monday,’ the National Weather Service said in a flash bulletin.
‘The combination of snow and ice may cause hazardous driving conditions on roads,’ the agency warned.
‘The storm will move swiftly northeastward with the heaviest snow lasting only about six hours and most of the snowfall spanning about 12 hours,’ said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger.
However, he noted that the intense rate of snowfall will make up for its short duration.
In Virginia, where a blizzard left thousands of motorists trapped on clogged highways earlier this month, outgoing Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency and urged people to take the approaching storm seriously.
In North Carolina, some store shelves were stripped bare of essentials including bread and milk.
By Friday, the fast-moving storm had already dropped heavy snow across a large swath of the Midwest, where travel conditions deteriorated and scores of schools closed or moved to online instruction.
Iowa was hit the hardest. Brad Small, a National Weather Service meteorologist said the airport in Des Moines saw more than 14 inches of snow and a big swath of the central and southern Iowa recorded between 9 inches and a foot of snow.
In perhaps a preview of the kind of problems east, the Iowa State Patrol had reported that 207 motorists were assisted and 78 crashes had occurred in the four hours between 5pm and 9pm Friday, according to the Des Moines Register.
Governor warns North Carolina to brace for ‘dangerous’ storm
And in Chicago, where a mayor once lost a bid for re-election because, in part, of the city´s failure to adequately respond to a massive blizzard when he was in office, the streets and sanitation department was on Saturday morning equipping more than 200 trucks with snow plow blades to keep the streets passable during and after the expected storm.
Parts of Tennessee could get as much as 6 inches of snow, forecasters said, and northern Mississippi and the Tennessee Valley region of Alabama could receive light snow accumulations. With lows predicted in the 20s across a wide area, any precipitation could freeze, making driving difficult if not hazardous.
Travis Wagler said he hadn’t seen such a run on supplies at his Abbeville, South Carolina, hardware store in at least two winters.
‘We´re selling everything you might expect: sleds, but also salt, shovels and firewood,’ Wagler said from Abbeville Hardware on Friday. That region faced predictions of a quarter-inch of ice or more on trees and power lines, which could lead to days without electricity.
A winter storm watch extended from just north of metro Atlanta to Arkansas in the west and Pennsylvania in the north, covering parts of 10 states including Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia.
Travel problems could extend into metro Atlanta, where about 2 inches of snow brought traffic to a slip-sliding halt in 2014, an event still known as ‘Snowmaggedon.’
A mixture of ice and up to an inch of snow is expected in Atlanta, according to an advisory issued Saturday by the National Weather Service.
At Dawsonville Hardware about 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of Atlanta, owner Dwight Gilleland said he was already out of heaters by noon Friday and only had five bags of salt and sand left.
‘I think the pandemic has made people more anxious than normal,’ he said.
Nearly 1,000 flights within the U.S. have already been cancelled for Sunday in anticipation of snow and ice in the South, according to the flight tracking site flightaware.com, which tracks flight cancellations worldwide. A major U.S. airport hub for American Airlines – Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina – leads the list of cancellations for Sunday at U.S. airports.
Possible power outages and travel problems could be exacerbated by any coating of ice – and winds gusting to 35 mph (55 kph), the National Weather Service said.
‘Hopefully, the storm will underdeliver, but it could overdeliver. We just don´t know,’ said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp as he announced storm preparations. He was taking no chances as he declared a state of emergency and crews began treating major roads and highways in north Georgia.
Governor Henry McMaster in neighboring South Carolina also issued an emergency order, saying the state would likely start feeling the effects of the major winter storm Sunday morning.
‘There is a potential for very dangerous conditions caused by accumulations of ice and snow, which will likely result in power outages across the state,’ he said.
The city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, had to borrow workers from other departments to help treat roads ahead of the storm because COVID-19 had caused a shortage of workers, spokesman Randy Britton said. Even volunteers pitched in to help as the city stepped up its normal schedule of preparing for winter weather, he said.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed an emergency order and the administration urged people to stay at home once the storm hits. The state highway agency warned that labor shortages meant crews might not respond to problems areas as quickly as normal.
The storm, after its expected weekend dip into the Southeast, was then expected to head into the Northeast while dropping snow, sleet and rain around the densely populated Eastern Seaboard.
Many schools and businesses will be closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which could help reduce travel problems along with temperatures that are supposed to rise into the 40s.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Jan.11: On Monday, Jan. 3, CBP officers working at the Los Indios International Bridge encountered a 22-year-old male United States citizen from Los Fresnos, Texas, who applied for entry into the United States driving a 2003 Ford.
#AceDailyNews CBP News Report: The vehicle was referred for secondary for further examination after a primary inspection: In secondary, with the aid of a non-intrusive imaging system (NII), CBP officers discovered 28 packages hidden within the 2003 Ford:
CBP officers removed the packages, which contained a total of 17.94 pounds of alleged methamphetamine.
“This narcotics seizure is important and reflects the steadfast commitment of our frontline CBP officers to keep our borders secure and protect our communities,” said Port Director Tater Ortiz, Brownsville Port of Entry.Packages containing nearly 18 pounds of methamphetamine seized by CBP officers at Los Indios International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas.
The estimated street value of the narcotics from the seizure is approximately $358,908.
CBP officers seized narcotics along with the vehicle, arrested the driver and turned him over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for further investigation.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Dec.31: The research goals foreseen for this launch have been achieved,” Hosseini added, without elaborating on the nature of the research: This was a preliminary launch. We will have operational launches in the near future.”
#AceDailyNews says according to Arab News Video News Report: The Simorgh satellite launcher carried three research cargos into space,” defense ministry spokesman Ahmad Hosseini said, quoted by state television.
The television aired footage of a rocket rising from a desert launchpad. It gave no details of its location although US media reported earlier this month that preparations for a launch were under way at Iran’s space center in Semnan, 300 kilometers east of Tehran.In February, Iran announced it had launched its most powerful solid fuel rocket to date, the Zoljanah, boasting that it can put a 220-kilogram payload into orbit.
Iran successfully put its first military satellite into orbit in April 2020, drawing a sharp rebuke from Washington. But according to the Pentagon and satellite imagery of the Semnan center, an Iranian satellite launch failed in mid-June. Tehran denied it failed.
Western governments worry that satellite launch systems incorporate technologies interchangeable with those used in ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. Iran insists its space program is for civilian and defense purposes only, and does not breach the nuclear deal or any other international agreement.
UN Security Council Resolution 2231 of 2015, endorsing the nuclear deal, imposed no blanket ban on Iranian rocket or missile launches. “Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology,” the text said.
The 2015 agreement has been hanging by a thread since then president Donald Trump abandoned it in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran to step up nuclear activities long curtailed by the deal. A new round of negotiations began in Vienna on Monday in a fresh push to make headway on reviving the deal. The aim is to bring back Washington and curtail Tehran’s nuclear activities.
Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia are taking part in the negotiations with Iran, while the United States is participating indirectly.
The United States voiced concern about that launch, saying the test could boost Iran’s ballistic missile technology at a time when the two nations are inching back to diplomacy.
There may have been some modest progress,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Dec.11: Apple has alerted eleven US diplomats either working in Uganda or on matters concerning the East African country that their phones had been penetrated by Pegasus, Reuters and the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
#AceDailyNews UPDATE Apple reveals which diplomats were hacked by Pegasus Software: The hack took place over the “last several months,” said Reuters, adding that the phones targeted had foreign numbers. NSO, the firm behind Pegasus, has maintained its malware cannot work on iPhones with US numbers according to RT News & Apple Insider News
Israeli firm’s Pegasus spyware used to attack U.S. diplomats’ phones, first confirmed use against American officials https://t.co/pSbr8zL9O1— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 3, 2021
While the State Department and Apple did not officially comment on the report, NSO issued a statement reacting to the allegations.
“Once the inquiry was received, and before any investigation under our compliance policy, we have decided to immediately terminate relevant customers’ access to the system, due to the severity of the allegations,”said NSO spokesperson Oded Hershkovitz.
While the company has not received “any information nor the phone numbers, nor any indication that NSO’s tools were used in this case,” at this point, they are ready to “cooperate with any relevant government authority and present the full information we will have,” Hershkovitz added.
NSO has close ties with the Israeli defense and intelligence communities, and the Israeli Defense Ministry must approve export licenses for their products. Historically, the company’s clients have included Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Mexico.
Targeting US officials would be a serious breach of the rules, the Israeli embassy in Washington said in a statement on Friday.
“Cyber products like the one mentioned are supervised and licensed to be exported to governments only for purposes related to counter-terrorism and severe crimes,” an embassy spokesperson said. “The licensing provisions are very clear and if these claims are true, it is a severe violation of these provisions.”
The United States National Security Council did not directly comment on the accusations, but issued a statement on Friday saying they have been “acutely concerned that commercial spyware like NSO Group’s software poses a serious counterintelligence and security risk to US personnel.”
This is why the “Biden-Harris Administration has placed several companies involved in the development and proliferation of these tools on the Department of Commerce’s Entity List,” the NSC added.
The US blacklisted NSO in October, citing Pegasus revelations. Apple has since sued to block NSO from accessing their devices, software, or service.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Dec.03: On Dec. 1, Chief Judge Denise Page Hood of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan sentenced Aleksandr Grichishkin, 34, of Russia, to 60 months in prison for the scheme…..
#AceDailyNews DOJ Court Report: A Russian man was sentenced today for providing “bulletproof hosting” services, which were used by cybercriminals between 2009 to 2015 to distribute malware and attack financial institutions and victims throughout the United States.
On June 28 and Oct. 20, respectively, Chief Judge Hood sentenced two of Grichishkin’s co-conspirators, Pavel Stassi, 30, of Estonia, to 24 months in prison and Aleksandr Skorodumov, 33, of Lithuania, to 48 months in prison for their roles in the scheme.
According to court documents, Grichishkin was a founder and leader of a bulletproof hosting organization that rented internet protocol (IP) addresses, servers, and domains to cybercriminal clients who employed this technical infrastructure to disseminate malware that allowed them to gain access to victims’ computers, form botnets, and steal banking credentials for use in frauds. Malware hosted by the organization included Zeus, SpyEye, Citadel, and the Blackhole Exploit Kit, which attacked U.S. companies and financial institutions between 2009 and 2015 and caused or attempted to cause millions of dollars in losses to U.S. victims.
Grichishkin also helped clients evade detection by law enforcement and continue their crimes uninterrupted by monitoring sites used to blocklist technical infrastructure used for crime, moving “flagged” content to new infrastructure, and registering all such infrastructure under false or stolen identities.
According to court filings and statements made in connection with the defendants’ guilty pleas, Grichishkin was one of the organization’s founders and proprietors, and its day-to-day leader. In this role, he oversaw efforts to advertise the organization’s bulletproof hosting services in online cybercrime forums, set pricing for these services, negotiated and interfaced with clients seeking internet infrastructure to be used in spamming and malware operations, managed employee hiring and compensation, and supervised the systems administrators’ and other employees’ work. He also regularly instructed other members of the organization on how to “resolve” abuse notices by, among other methods, moving the affected clients’ data to new, “clean” domains and IP addresses.
Stassi, Skorodumov, Grichishkin, and a fourth defendant, Andrei Skvortsov, 34, of Russia, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization. Skvortsov is pending sentencing and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI investigated the case with critical assistance from law enforcement partners in Germany, Estonia, and the United Kingdom.
Senior Counsel Louisa K. Marion of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick E. Corbett of the Eastern District of Michigan prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Nov.28: UK, USA and Australia provide details of their bi-lateral agreement on AUKUS to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) …..
#AceDailyNews GOVUK Report: The United Kingdom, Australia and the United States updated the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors about the AUKUS agreement according to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Speaking on behalf on the UK, USA and Australia, H. E. Richard Sadleir, Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA said:
Thank you Chair.
I have the honour of speaking on behalf of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Chair, as we have previously advised the Board of Governors, and the General Conference, in September 2021 the leaders of our three countries announced a shared ambition to support Australia in acquiring conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines. We have been clear that Australia is, and will remain, a non-nuclear weapon state party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. To reiterate, Australia does not and will not seek nuclear weapons.
Chair, this joint effort to identify, through an 18-month consultation period, the optimal approach to the acquisition by Australia, of nuclear-powered submarines is currently in its early stages. We emphasize today our willingness and intent to proceed in an open and consultative manner, especially regarding issues of nuclear material, facilities, and activities relevant to the IAEA. We also reiterate our assurance that the trilateral cooperation between Australia, the US and the UK will be fully consistent with the three parties’ respective non-proliferation obligations – and that this cooperation will be pursued in a manner that preserves the integrity of the non-proliferation regime. Many of the programme specifics have yet to be determined. There are aspects that may be relevant to the implementation of respective safeguards and other obligations, but the full implications of these aspects are not clear at this stage. There are also a number of factors beyond the purview and scope of this Board that would be inappropriate for discussion in this body.
Chair, a Board agenda item addressing safeguards related to an Australian nuclear-powered submarine programme is premature. We believe that this Board must attend to more critical issues. As such, we have not sought to engage in a procedural debate on the agenda at this time. We view this as a one-off agenda item on this issue. When there are significant developments to report, and in the interests of transparency, we are happy to update the Board in the future under Any Other Business, as we had intended to do at this meeting. Engagement between the Director General of the IAEA, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States began prior to the September announcement. It has progressed since then and will continue. We will continue to update the Board as appropriate, noting again that we are very early in the consultation process.
Chair, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States are strongly opposed to the establishment of a ‘special committee’ into this issue. Such a proposal is nothing more than an attempt to introduce issues that are extraneous to the IAEA’s technical and legal mandate and appears intended to politicise this issue. I underline again that we are in the early stages of an 18 month consultative period. We are also deeply concerned by calls for the Director General to avoid engaging with us on these issues. Not only is it proper and appropriate, but there is a firm legal basis for the Director General and the Secretariat to engage Australia, with the support of relevant partners, on issues relevant to the prospective use of nuclear material by Australia for naval nuclear propulsion. The IAEA has a legal obligation to engage Australia on these issues under Australia’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol. Any suggestion otherwise risks undermining the role of the Agency.
Chair, there have been some mischaracterisations of the AUKUS partnership and Australia’s acquisition of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines, which we have clarified in a non-paper circulated earlier this week. We will not take up the Board’s time by detailing them here, but we do wish to once again underscore that we are well aware of, and fully committed to upholding, the commitments, obligations, and authorities under our respective safeguards agreements. We have been clear that we will undertake this effort in a way that reflects our longstanding leadership in global non-proliferation and rigorous verification standards, in close consultation with the IAEA. Comments about political, geostrategic or national security implications of any activity are clearly beyond the scope of this Board’s mandate.
Finally Chair, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States remain fully committed to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. Discussions on those matters are more appropriately left to other forums. We will continue to approach this discussion in an open and transparent manner. We welcome the interest and questions of fellow Member States and will continue to engage with them through the appropriate channels and mechanisms.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Nov.25: Sasse recalled that on July 21, Germany and the U.S. approved a joint statement in which she says a “constructive solution” was found to the issue of Nord Stream 2, Russia’s gas pipeline laid to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, thus bypassing Ukraine.
#AceDailyNews says the comment came as Spokeswoman for Germany’s Foreign Ministry, Andrea Sasse, at a briefing on Wednesday answered journalists’ questions about the strengthening of U.S. sanctions against the pipeline, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
November 24, 2021: 24.11.2021 16:07
The United States earlier added to its Nord Stream 2-related sanctions list another company and a vessel, Transadria Ltd. and Marlin, respectively.
“Since then, we have been working intensively on the implementation of this joint statement and regularly coordinating actions at various levels,” said the diplomat. At the same time, she stopped short of comment on Washington’s latest steps.
The U.S. Department of State stressed that along with the restrictions, the U.S. administration imposed sanctions on a total of eight individuals and 17 vessels under PEESA (Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act) in the context of the Russian gas pipeline project.
The German Federal Network Agency, which is in the process of certifying the pipe, suspended the procedure on November 16. The German regulator also granted requests applied by Naftogaz of Ukraine and Gas TSO of Ukraine LLC to participate in the Nord Stream 2 certification.
It should be recalled that the construction of Nord Stream 2 was completed in early September 2021.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Nov.22: The likelihood of a potential Russian assault on Ukraine is “increasing as the weather gets colder,” CBS News reported on Saturday, citing the customary unnamed US intelligence “sources.” Quite why Moscow would choose the coldest months of the year, with the shortest days, is left unclear.
#AceDailyNews says according to RT News Report: Russia set to launch winter invasion of Ukraine, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday urged Moscow to “be more transparent on the buildup of the forces around on the border of Ukraine.” Austin added that he was “not sure exactly” about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plan of action.
“An incursion is weather-dependent, but could happen in a matter of weeks, barring intervention from the West,” it continued.
Ukraine initially refused to back the reports in US media about the buildup of Russian troops, but later changed its tune. Brigadier General Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s chief military intelligence officer, told the Military Times on Sunday that Russia is preparing to attack Ukraine by the end of January or the beginning of February.
The Ukrainian military produced a map showing how Russia in a “short-term perspective” could invade Ukraine from all directions, including an incursion from the territory of Belarus.
Russia has denied amassing troops along the Ukrainian border. When reports of possible preparation for an invasion began appearing in US media this month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova dismissed them as “fake” news that she said was part of a larger disinformation campaign waged against Russia.
In an interview broadcast on Rossiya-1 TV channel on Sunday, Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, said the West was “artificially stoking hysteria.”
Heightened tensions between Russian and the West have coincided with a refugee crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border. This saw up to 4,000 would-be asylum seekers, most of whom are from the Middle East, gathering near the frontier, in the hope of reaching Poland. Some even pelted guards and police with stones.
EU officials have accused Belarus of effectively engineering the crisis as part of its hybrid warfare against the bloc. Minsk replying by saying the EU was waging a hybrid war of its own by supporting Belarusian opposition figures and anti-government media.
The Polish Border Guard revealed on Thursday that the refugee camp had been cleared. On Saturday, it reported that around 100 “very aggressive foreigners, brought to the border by the Belarusian authorities” had tried to force their way into Poland.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Nov.19: On Friday, U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson granted a request from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California for authority to liquidate approximately $56 million in fraud proceeds seized from the self-described “number one promoter” of BitConnect, a cryptocurrency, who consented to the seizure. This liquidation is the largest single recovery of a cryptocurrency fraud by the United States to date. …..
#AceDailyNews DOJ Court Report: According to court documents, on Sept. 1, Glenn Arcaro, 44, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to participating in a massive conspiracy to defraud BitConnect investors in the United States and abroad, in which investors were fraudulently induced to invest over $2 billion. The BitConnect scheme is the largest cryptocurrency fraud scheme ever charged criminally.
All potential victims of the BitConnect scheme are encouraged to visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/us-v-glenn-arcaro-21cr02542-twrfor information on rights they may possess as a victim, the opportunity to submit a victim impact statement, and to identify themselves as a potential victim.
With entry of the court’s interlocutory sale order, the government will begin the process of seeking to make whole victims of the BitConnect scheme by selling the cryptocurrency and holding the proceeds in U.S. dollars. The government will maintain custody of the seized proceeds in cryptocurrency wallets and intends to use these funds to provide restitution to the victims pursuant to a future restitution order by the court at sentencing.
Arcaro is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 7, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation are investigating the case. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is assisting with the liquidation of the cryptocurrency proceeds.
Trial Attorney Kevin Lowell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Silva, Mark W. Pletcher, Carl Brooker, and Lisa Sanniti of the Southern District of California are prosecuting the case. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided indispensable assistance to the investigation.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Nov.16: The work, of a child with a crowbar, originally next to a sandcastle and lifted paving slab, appeared in August: Workmen were at the scene on Sunday and removed it from the wall in Lowestoft, Suffolk.
#AceDailyNews says according to a BBC Media News Report: Banksy Artwork Sale: The former electrical shop in London Road North, had been on the market for £300,000 when the work appeared, but was re-listed for £500,000after Banksy confirmed the work was part of his “Great British Spraycation” series.
The property on London Road North in Lowestoft was taken off the market when Banksy confirmed a mural was his
Julien’s Auctions in California said it “could fetch between $200,000 to $400,000, but the sky is the limit with the current values of Banksy”.
Art dealer John Brandler from Brentwood, Essex, said the authorities had “missed an opportunity” to keep it for the town and should have purchased the property.
Mr Brandler, who owns several Banksy pieces, including the hula-hooping girl, originally sprayed on a Nottingham wall, said he did not expect the Lowestoft mural to return to the UK.
“Lowestoft was given a gift by Banksy; a golden opportunity to bring thousands of tourists into the town and help the local economy. It’s a missed opportunity,” he said.
Crispin Hook
The work has now been removed from the side of the vacant shop
The artwork, along with other murals near the railway station, on the beach and in a park in nearby Oulton Broad, has drawn crowds to the town.
At the weekend Miles Barry, chairman of Easterly Artists, said he was concerned about its removal and final destination.
“If it’s being removed to be displayed in a more prominent location within the town in an artistic context, then that’s lovely,” he said.
“If it’s because the owner realised having it in location adds £200,000 to the value of the property but having it for auction… it could possibly fetch a great deal more – then that’s a different situation.”
“It’s a great shame – it’s not just about the painting on the wall… there’s a social comment there about resources.”
The BBC has attempted to contact both East Suffolk Council and the owner of the building for comment.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Nov.16: According to court filings, the scheme involved the payment of more than $700 million in bribes to government officials, public servants, political parties, and others in Panama and other countries around the world to obtain and retain business for the company.
#AceDailyNews DOJ Court Report: Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares (Luis Martinelli Linares), 39, a citizen of Panama and Italy, was extradited from Guatemala to the United States today to face an indictment filed in federal court in Brooklyn charging him and his brother, Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares (Ricardo Martinelli Linares), 42, a citizen of Panama and Italy, with money laundering offenses in connection with a massive bribery and money laundering scheme involving Odebrecht S.A. (Odebrecht), a Brazil-based global construction conglomerate:
He is scheduled to make his initial appearance tomorrow before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marcia M. Henry of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
“The successful extradition of Luis Martinelli Linares demonstrates the department’s commitment to work with our international partners to pursue, capture and extradite those who use the U.S. financial system to further their corrupt schemes and launder illicit funds,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Thanks to the efforts of our law enforcement partners in Guatemala, Luis Martinelli Linares will be held accountable in the United States for his alleged crimes.”
“The extradition of Luis Martinelli Linares to the Eastern District of New York is a significant first step in holding him accountable for allegedly laundering millions of dollars in bribe payments through bank accounts in New York and elsewhere,” stated U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “Combatting bribery and money laundering by extraditing and prosecuting corrupt foreign actors like Martinelli is a priority of the Department of Justice.”
“Anyone who facilitates bribe payments to government officials contributes to national security risks, whether overtly or inadvertently, and interrupts the free market system of international trade,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll. “The FBI will use all available resources to put an end to this type of corrupt behavior.”
Luis Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares are alleged in the indictment and other court filings to have conspired with others to launder approximately $28 million in bribe payments made by and at the direction of Odebrecht to a then high-ranking government official in Panama (Panama Government Official), who was a close relative of the defendants. The defendants were initially charged by criminal complaint on June 27, 2020. The defendants were arrested at el Aeropuerto Internacional la Aurora in Guatemala on July 6, 2020, pursuant to a provisional arrest request from the United States as they were attempting to depart Guatemala on a private plane. On Feb. 4, 2021, Luis Martinelli Linares and Ricardo Martinelli Linares were charged in a five-count indictment. The indictment charged both defendants with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of concealment money laundering; Luis Martinelli Linares was also charged with two counts of engaging in transactions in criminally derived property.
On May 17, 2021, after several preliminary appeals were dismissed, the Guatemalan Fifth Criminal Sentencing Court granted the request by the United States to extradite Luis Martinelli Linares. On June 21, the Guatemalan Court of Appeals, Criminal Branch affirmed the ruling of the Guatemalan criminal court granting extradition. On Oct. 15, the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs notified the United States, via diplomatic note, that the extradition was final and Luis Martinelli Linares was ready for surrender to the United States, resulting in his arrival in the United States on Nov. 15. The United States continues its efforts to have Ricardo Martinelli Linares returned to the United States to face justice.
On Dec. 21, 2016, Odebrecht pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to a criminal information charging it with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for its involvement in the bribery and money laundering scheme.
The Department of Justice commended and thanked the Government of Guatemala for its assistance in the extradition of Luis Martinelli Linares to the United States. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Luis Martinelli Linares. The Brazilian Ministerio Publico Federal, Departamento de Polícia Federal, law enforcement authorities in Guatemala including the Public Ministry of Guatemala and Specialized Unit for International Affairs, and law enforcement authorities in El Salvador also provided significant cooperation.
The FBI’s International Corruption Unit in New York is investigating this case, and the NY-ICS, New York SWAT and FBI’s International Operations Division conducted the transport of Luis Martinelli Linares from Guatemala to the United States.
Trial Attorney Michael Culhane Harper of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Trial Attorneys Barbara Levy and Michael Redmann of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alixandra E. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting all FCPA matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative in MLARS was formed to prosecute money launderers and forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, to use those recovered asset to benefit the people harmed by the corruption and abuse of office. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to kleptocracy@usdoj.gov.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Oct.16: This additional funding brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for Central America and Mexico to more than $331 million for Fiscal Year 2021.
#AceDailyNews reports that the State Dept has announced ‘New Humanitarian Aid in Central America and Mexico’ This additional funding will support increased access to international protection, access to mental health and psychosocial support, legal assistance, shelter, and healthcare, including prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Through its international organization partners, PRM funding also supports protection capacity building for governments in the region.
Through this new humanitarian assistance, the United States is advancing our mission to collaboratively manage migration in the region, including by promoting access to protection and increasing the U.S. response to urgent humanitarian needs in Central America and Mexico. This is part of the Administration’s comprehensive approach to supporting safe, orderly, and humane migration while also addressing the root causes of irregular migration in the region.
The United States is the largest single donor of humanitarian aid in Central America and Mexico and to asylum seekers, refugees, and vulnerable migrants in the region. We remain concerned about the continuing increase in humanitarian needs and forced displacement in the region, and we urge other donors to contribute to the international response and provide the support needed to save lives.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Oct.15: According to Putin, the United States is only developing hypersonic missiles with a speed of slightly more than Mach 3: According to Putin, similar systems are being developed in other countries, and this is not unusual.
#AceDailyNews says that according to Interfax Putin has said that Russia has won nuclear arms race with the United States And our systems are flying at speeds in excess of Mach 20. It’s not just a hypersonic missile, it’s an intercontinental missile. And they are on combat duty already in Russia,” Interfax quoted Putin as saying…….
“I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we, having such systems, and for the first time in history, are overtaking our main competitors – in this case the United States – in high-tech weapons systems. We do not abuse this, do not threaten anyone,” Putin said.
According to Putin, the nuclear arms race resumed after the U.S. withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2003, which Moscow considered “the cornerstone of international security.”
It was not just a defense, but “an attempt to gain strategic advantages by de-energizing the nuclear potential of a potential enemy,” Putin explained.
Russia, Putin said, had two ways: either to create its own missile defense, which “costs a lot of money and it is not known how it will work,” or to develop missiles that will overcome American defenses.
“I said we’re going to do it. The answer from the American partners was as follows: our missile defense is not against you, you do what you want, we will proceed from the fact that it is not against us,” Putin described the situation.
The arms race “is not on our initiative,” he stressed, adding that Russia is ready to conduct a constructive dialogue on this matter.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Oct.08: Despite the challenges of protecting a vast and geographically diverse region like the Pacific Northwest during the COVID-19 pandemic, the commitment of U.S. and Canadian partners to the continued safety and security of the public, our natural resources, and the economic prosperity of both nations remain resolute,” said Capt. Patrick Hilbert, commander of Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound. “These joint operations are a testament to the strength of our shared resolve as we continue to engage and collaborate on important issues moving forward.”
#AceDailyNews reports on U.S., Canadian partner agencies complete joint maritime law enforcement, security operations throughout Puget Sound, PNW
News Release: U.S. Coast Guard 13th District Pacific Northwest Contact: 13th District Public Affairs Office: (206) 220-7237 After Hours: (206) 251-3237 13th District online newsroom
Joint maritime operations focused on enhanced maritime border security to deter and interdict illicit activity; improved awareness of vessel movements; traffic patterns; and fishing activity; strengthening interagency partnerships, communications, and interoperability; and leveraging resources and partnerships to achieve multi-mission success.
At the conclusion of operations, U.S. and Canadian partner agency personnel conducted more than 1,000 vessel checks resulting in issuance of 35 violations for safety, illegal fishing, and boating under the influence.
Additionally, more than 60 maritime border crossings were vetted by participating agency personnel, and nine investigative leads were discovered including vessels and persons under investigation for money crimes, narcotic trafficking, Southern Resident Killer Whale endangerment, and crab poaching.
Editors’ Note: Click on images to download high resolution version.
“CBSA is proud to work with its partners to safeguard our borders and keep our communities safe from illegal activity. By collaborating and cooperating, we are stronger and smarter in addressing risks and threats to public safety,” said John Linde, CBSA Director of Intelligence and Enforcement Operations Division in the Pacific Region.
Participating U.S. federal and Canadian partners are part of the Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinating Mechanism. The PNW ReCoM coordinates multi-mission interagency law enforcement operations and security initiatives throughout Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest, and actively works to strengthen partner communication and collaboration through information sharing and active working groups. PNW ReCoM leadership positions rotate on an annual basis, and is currently co-chaired by Canada Border Services Agency and Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations.
“The RCMP Shiprider program is dedicated to working with our partners to achieve our common goals, such as border security and disruption of cross-border crime,” said Superintendent Bert Ferreira, Officer in Charge of the Federal RCMP Border Integrity Program in British Columbia. “Joint operations, such as this one, provide an opportunity to showcase the positive results that come from the collaboration and interoperability between our agencies. We look forward to continuing our excellent relationship with our partners and the results of future joint operations.”
The commander of CBP AMO in the Pacific Northwest, Director Jeremy Thompson, said, “AMO brings dedicated airborne and seaborne law enforcement assets to our region, and we’re honored to serve alongside our U.S. and Canadian partners. PNW ReCoM partnerships are crucial to safeguard the people of the United States.”
“Our PNW ReCoM highlights the great work the Department of Homeland Security accomplishes in the maritime environment with our U.S. and Canadian law enforcement partners,” said Chief Patrol Agent David S. BeMiller. The U.S. Border Patrol, Blaine Sector, is committed to supporting our partners, protecting our communities, achieving border security, and enhancing national security.”
Kenneth Williams, CBP Office of Field Operations Area Port Director said, “This operation illustrates the strong network of law enforcement partners in the Pacific Northwest and their commitment in keeping our communities safe. We value being part of this great partnership and look forward to future collaborations.”
The following agencies participated in the operations:
– Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound
– Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team 91101
– Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team West
– Coast Guard Investigative Service
– Customs and Border Protection Patrol Office of Field Operations
– Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations
– Customs and Border Protection U.S. Border Patrol
– Customs and Border Protection Office of Intelligence
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Sept.26: We stand for the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity of states,” U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a joint statement after the talks…..
#AceDailyNews according to Reuters …..Quad leaders press for free Indo-Pacific, with wary eye on China with a two-hour meeting at the White House of the Quad, as the grouping of four major democracies is called, will be watched closely in Beijing, which criticized the group as “doomed to fail.”
EPA
While China was not mentioned in the public remarks by the four leaders or in the lengthy joint statement and a factsheet issued afterwards, Beijing was clearly top of mind.
Their statement made frequent mention of the leaders’ insistence on rules-based behavior in a region where China has been trying to flex its muscles.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Sept.23: That’s according to Ukrinform’s own correspondent in New York reporting from Zelensky’s meeting with representatives of Ukrainian organizations and churches in the United States, which took place at the Ukrainian Institute of America.
#AceDailyNews says that Ukraine to implement idea of dual citizenship, Zelensky assures diaspora in U.S.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has told the Americans of Ukrainian descent said he would work toward implementing the idea of dual citizenship.
“We must implement the idea of dual citizenship, especially for Ukrainians in America,” Zelensky said, noting, however, that the issue with the law on dual citizenship “isn’t an easy one.
“This can’t apply to everyone because some Ukrainians live in countries that are not our friends, to put it mildly,” Zelensky explained, hinting at Russia.
According to Zelensky, it is necessary to “restore history, justice, and respect for the centuries-old, multinational and multicolored state.” And the restoration of respect, he said, is measured by concrete things. Among such things, the president named massive road construction efforts.
“Our roads are better now than they are in New York,” he said, sparking applause and adding that more work needs to be done in this regard in “respect for the history of our country.”
The head of state also stressed his priority in the office, which is to bring peace back to Ukraine. This will be done through diplomacy, negotiations “with a very difficult country and difficult people,” and we need pressure from the international community, “anyone who can do anything to restoring our country’s connection with all our people and territories.”
Zelensky called on Ukrainians abroad to do everything possible to help Ukraine.
In turn, President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Andriy Futey, noted that the community is making every effort to influence U.S. government policy towards Ukraine and thus to promote the implementation of Ukraine’s strategic course toward membership in NATO and the EU, restoration of territorial integrity, as well as the termination of the Nord Stream 2 project.
As Ukrinform reported, Volodymyr Zelensky kicked off his working visit to the United States on September 20.
The President arrived in New York to attend the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. The Ukrainian leader is set to speak at the session’s general debate on September 22.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Sept.21: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday on France-Info radio. He urged African governments to fill the void and seize back ground taken by the extremists.”
#AceDailyNews says that France says it killed #IslamicState jihad leader who is said to be behind deaths of U.S. soldiers, hails big victory,” Associated Press, September 16, 2021:
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the death of Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi overnight.
According to Macron’s office, al-Sahrawi personally ordered the killing of six French aid workers and their Nigerien colleagues last year, and his group was behind a 2017 attack that killed U.S. and Niger military personnel.
He was killed in a strike by France’s Barkhane military operation “a few weeks ago,” but authorities waited to be sure of his identity before making the announcement, French Defense Minister Florence Parly told RFI radio Thursday.
She did not disclose details of the operation or where al-Sahrawi was killed, though ISIS is active along the border between Mali and Niger.
“He was at the origin of massacres and terror,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday on France-Info radio. He urged African governments to fill the void and seize back ground taken by the extremists.
Rumors of the militant leader’s death had circulated for weeks in Mali, though authorities in the region had not confirmed it. It was not immediately possible to independently verify the claim or to know how the remains had been identified….
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Sept.18: A US-based Governing Body of eight men sits at the pinnacle of the Jehovah’s Witnesses organisation. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe these men are anointed as the voice of God on Earth: All Witnesses are expected to obey instructions and doctrines that influence every aspect of life: Women are considered subservient to men, higher education is discouraged and homosexuality is not permitted:
ABC Four Corners EXCLUSIVE: Inside the brutal world of the Jehovah’s Witnesses: Eight million around the globe believe that Armageddon is imminent, and the only path to survival is to follow the organisation’s strict rules:
Doomsday images from Jehovah’s Witnesses publications.(Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania)
The organisation’s in-house production studio and publications pump out fear-driven content that keeps followers afraid that the end is coming and that they are being persecuted by the outside world: Witnesses are also taught to distrust everyone outside the group: The Governing Body oversees a vast global real estate portfolio, including Kingdom Halls built by congregations around the world.
Amy Whitby and her mother Theresa Clare sit and have tea together.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
The Australian branch owns at least 440 properties including a sprawling headquarters in western Sydney. Last year, it reported an income of more than $32 million.
As a religious charity, it receives significant federal and state tax exemptions.
Amy’s fight for justice
Amy Whitby and her mother, Theresa Clare, left the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2015.
Ms Clare said she left after realising the extent of abuse within the organisation, including allegedly against her own daughter.
“They rip your reputation apart. They rip you apart as a person. I mean they even ripped me apart as a mum,” Ms Clare said.
Amy Whitby and her mother Theresa Clare sit and have tea together.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
They are scarred by what allegedly happened to Amy as an 11-year-old girl growing up in the remote Queensland town of Mount Isa. Amy said she was abused by a trusted member of the congregation, inside the home her family shared with another Jehovah’s Witnesses family.
“The job of an elder is to shepherd the congregation, to look after the flock, to keep them safe. That’s their job because we’re Jehovah’s people and it’s their job to keep us safe and they failed,” Ms Whitby said…
Ms Clare told Four Corners she complained at the time about Amy’s abuse to a Witness elder.
“There were meetings with the elders in my friend’s home, but I was never believed. I was told that I was mental. They used my illness against me because I had that breakdown and I suffered manic depression,” Ms Clare said.
Amy Whitby and her mother Theresa cutting cake.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)Amy Whitby and her mother Theresa Clare were shunned after they left the Jehovah’s Witnesses.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)Theresa Clare says the organisation ripped her apart as a person. (Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
As part of Ms Whitby’s legal case, she is claiming that the Jehovah’s Witnesses elders must have known her alleged abuser had been convicted the previous year of offences against an eight-year-old boy.
“There’d just be no way that those elders would not have known that he was charged, arrested by the police and then went to court,” Ms Clare said.
“It just doesn’t happen in that religion. People spy on each other, you’re told it’s your responsibility. You hear something about someone you are to report it.”
The Jehovah’s Witnesses say local elders weren’t aware of the prior conviction, and, regardless, the organisation isn’t responsible for the acts of its members within the family home.
Amy Whitby says being a Jehovah’s Witness robbed her of a proper childhood.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)She says being a Jehovah’s Witness ruined her self-esteem. (Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
Despite Ms Clare’s complaints, the man remained in the congregation and even took to the stage to deliver Bible readings.
“It would make me so angry to the point that I would get up and I’d go outside and I’d just pace. I’d just be going around and just that anger, because all I wanted to do was run in there and scream at them that he shouldn’t be allowed up there,” Ms Whitby said.
The Jehovah’s Witness organsation has hundreds of Kingdom Halls around the country.(Four Corners)
Ms Whitby is now taking legal action against the local Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation and the Australian head office. She’s suing for breaching the duty of care they owed her, by failing to protect her and allowing sexual abuse to occur.
“I feel like what happened had a bit of a domino effect on the rest of my life. I wonder sometimes what my life would have been like if that hadn’t have happened, my self confidence, my self worth,” Ms Whitby said.
Theresa and Amy keep an affirmation board to help build their self-esteem.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
Attempts to settle have so far failed and Ms Whitby’s case is now headed to trial. It would be the first time in Australia that the Jehovah’s Witnesses organisation has defended sexual abuse allegations in court.
Ms Whitby’s lawyer Lisa Flynn said courts in overseas jurisdictions have found the Jehovah’s Witnesses liable for failing their duty of care to children.
Lisa Flynn is the national practice leader for Shine Lawyers.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
“We think that the Australian courts will make that same determination when they’re called on to do so.”
Lawyers who have battled the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the US and UK have told Four Corners the organisation has a global problem with both child abuse and the way it responds to victims.
They say the organisation drags cases out until the last possible moment, then settles to avoid a courtroom examination of its practices.
In Australia, a similar pattern is being seen.
“That continuous denial, the continuous delays certainly has a significant impact on our clients,” Ms Flynn said.
In a statement to Four Corners, the Jehovah’s Witnesses said, “The organisation responds directly to any claim for compensation in a caring, fair and principled manner”.
Ms Flynn’s firm, Shine Lawyers, is representing 10 former Jehovah’s Witnesses who allege they were abused within their congregations.
‘They view me as dead’
The people who break away from the Jehovah’s Witnesses like Amy Whitby and Theresa Clare pay a terrible price.
They remain cut off from their families and closest friends: those they love the most.
In 2017, the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found the total social exclusion known as “shunning” made it difficult for abuse survivors to leave the organisation, was “upsetting” and “particularly devastating” for those who suffered child abuse and left because their abuser remained in the congregation.
“I knew I would definitely be shunned by friends, but I honestly didn’t think my siblings would shun me because of what we’d all been through together,” Ms Whitby said.
Amy Whitby was shunned by her own siblings.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
As a grandmother, the impact on Ms Clare has been heartbreaking.
“One little grandson was with his dad and his dad let him speak to me and he said to me, ‘I’m forgetting you Nanny’. And he said, ‘I’m sorry, Nanny.’ And I said to him, ‘I’ll never forget you’. I said, ‘I will always want you to remember that’.”
Bill Hahn was his congregation’s treasurer or “accounts servant”. He was born into the organisation and raised his three older children as witnesses.
Bill Hahn was a Jehovah’s Witness congregation treasurer before he left organisation. (Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
He was “disfellowshipped”, or excommunicated, in 2011, after disagreements with others in the organisation and was shunned by his family.
“Yeah, it’s like a death. Mum died three weeks ago, and I knew it was coming at some point, and I just got a text message from my brother, to say, ‘Oh, by the way, mum died yesterday of stomach cancer. Doesn’t want a funeral. Didn’t want a fuss, and that’s it’,” Mr Hahn said.
He also grieves for his two boys and eldest daughter, who continue to shun him.
Bill Hahn, a former Jehovah’s Witness, visits a local Kingdom Hall with flowers.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
“So, really, for the last 10 years, from when the reality of it set in, that, ‘Okay, they view me as dead’ — you almost mourn in reverse,” he said.
Bill Hahn leaving flowers at a Kingdom Hall in memory of the family he’s ‘lost’ to the religion.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
“In fact, within the ex-Jehovah’s witnesses, we do it once a year, [there] is a memorial day … you take a bunch of flowers and a card to mourn the loss of your family, and leave it on the door of a Kingdom Hall.”
Bill Hahn leaves flowers outside a Kingdom Hall.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
“I just had to grieve the fact that, until they wake up themselves and leave and come out of the religion, that, basically, I just have to view them, that they’ve passed away, which is not nice, but it’s a way of coping.”
In a statement to Four Corners, the Jehovah’s Witnesses defended the practice of shunning.
They say congregation members “exercise their personal religious conscience … to limit or cease their association with a disfellowshipped person.”
‘It took me so long to wake up’
Renee Pickles was born into the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1976.
The organisation controlled all aspects of her life until it cast her out, severing her from everyone she was close to.
Renee Pickles looking at childhood photos(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
She said her childhood was governed by the organisation’s strict rules about the way to dress and behave as well as the requirement to proselytise door-to-door, known as “witnessing”.
Renee Pickles looking out over her backyard on a grey day.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
She was a congregation member until 1997 when, aged just 21, she was interrogated by a judicial committee over her personal life, judged to be “unrepentant” and disfellowshipped.
Renee Pickles was a Jehovah’s Witness until her mid-20s.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
“It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I believe it is the main reason for a lot of my trauma. It was basically three men who were in an interview panel with me,” she said.
She was cast out into a world she was completely unprepared for.
“I had nobody to turn to, and then I’d lost my entire family and community. So it was like I landed in a different planet and it was an extremely lonely period of time. It was unbelievable.”
She is speaking out in order to expose the organisation’s practices.
“Everybody thinks that Jehovah’s Witnesses are just friendly, nice-looking people, maybe a bit quirky, who knock on doors,” she said.
“It’s very difficult to help people understand just how dangerous this group is and what a harrowing experience people who leave have to go through.”
Ms Pickles said she was so traumatised by her experiences that, for years, she would be terrified when witnesses came knocking on her door.
COVID-19 has shuttered Kingdom Halls and stopped door-knocking in Sydney, but Ms Pickles said she was prepared for them when they resume their door-to-door proselytising.
“I would try to help them. I understand that it’s very difficult to help them because they’re very enmeshed. I know what it was like when I was in it. It took me so long to wake up from it … But I’d just be kind and just hope that one day they will have the opportunity to leave.”
Renee Pickles dreads the day’s Witnesses knock at her door.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
Ms Whitby said she had found great inner strength since leaving the organisation.
“[They took] 33 years of my life, and I’m not letting them take any more. They’re not taking another part of my life,” Ms Whitby said.
She still has hope for those who remain trapped inside, including her own siblings.
“I know there are still good people inside the congregations. I know that. So I have no hate against a lot of the members, but the organisation itself, I hate them and they need to change.”
Organisation refuses to accept blame for abuse
The royal commission uncovered a vast cache of files compiled by Jehovah’s Witnesses members over more than 60 years.
These files documented allegations and confessions of the abuse of more than 1,800 children by more than 1,000 alleged perpetrators in Australia.
The royal commission found no evidence the Australian branch office had ever alerted authorities about any of the alleged abuse documented in these files.
A opened Jehovah’s Witness Bible.(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
“The scale, the strangeness, the intimacy of what was recorded, and the fact that none of it had been reported — it was astounding,” said James Pender, a solicitor for the royal commission.
The royal commission slammed the Jehovah’s Witnesses for failing to report child sexual abuse to police.
It made three key recommendations: That the organisation should involve women in its judicial committees; abandon the two-witness rule in abuse cases; and stop shunning people who leave due to abuse.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses say they will not implement these recommendations because their practices are based on the Bible.
They say the royal commission conflated family child sex abuse with abuse occurring within their organisation and that there is actually no evidence the Jehovah’s Witnesses are guilty of what is typically considered institutional abuse.
Jehovah’s Witness publication ‘New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.'(Four Corners: Harriet Tatham) Witnesses believe the End is Nigh for a world that is controlled by Satan. (Four Corners: Harriet Tatham)
In 2019, elders investigating the sins of congregants in Australia were advised against making notes of conversations.
The instruction said: “If the so-called ‘wild talk’ [of a member] is recorded in detail, it may not be accurately assessed when reviewed out of context” and any personal notes “should be destroyed once a summation of the hearing has been prepared”.
A 2020 document describes the royal commission’s findings as “factually wrong and unlawful”.
The organisation has long resisted joining a redress scheme designed to compensate abuse survivors.
It formally joined the scheme last week after the Federal Government threatened to withhold funding and strip the organisation of its charity status.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsReport – Sept.16: As part of our commitment to the people of Afghanistan, the United States is providing nearly $64 million in new humanitarian assistance to the people affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. This brings total U.S. humanitarian aid in Afghanistan and for Afghan refugees in the region to nearly $4 billion since 2002.
#AceDailyNews reports that the United States has announced additional humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan but this has led to denial of care to Americans: “a hospital near the Dulles Expo Center that federal officials designated as a go-to spot for medical treatment began running out of available beds, forcing the hospital to turn away non-Afghan patients who weren’t in need of critical care, said Nickerson, who also directs the Northern Virginia Hospital Alliance and declined to name the hospital.”
STATE DEPT: This assistance from the United States will flow through independent humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and provide support directly to the more than 18.4 million vulnerable Afghans in the region including Afghan refugees. This funding will allow our partners to provide lifesaving protection, shelter, livelihoods support, essential health care, emergency food aid, water, sanitation, and hygiene services to respond to the needs generated by recent conflict and compounded by the severe drought and other natural disasters, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic….
The Washington Postreported Tuesday that “[t]he mass arrival of Afghan evacuees last month, many in need of medical care, wreaked havoc on Northern Virginia’s hospital system — prompting a regional emergency response group to assume oversight after one hospital became overwhelmed with patients and federal officials lost track of where some Afghans were hospitalized, officials said.”
Kristin Nickerson, executive director of the Northern Virginia Emergency Response System, said: “Our hospitals are already almost at capacity. It’s not like they have tons of free beds available. We are still in the middle of a pandemic.” Oh yeah, that’s right, that pandemic for which Biden’s handlers are mandating vaccinations, except for migrants crossing the Southern border. Will the Afghan evacuees have to get the vaccine while they’re in hospitals for their free taxpayer-funded health care? The Post didn’t deign to say…..
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily all of our posts fromTwitter can be found here: https://acetwitternews.wordpress.com/ and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
