Lauren Johnson Wrote:David,

Your response reminds me of Charles Williams' fiction and in particular, Shadows of Ecstasy. From his Wiki article:

Shadows of Ecstasy, 1931 A humanistic adept has discovered that by focusing his energies inward he can extend his life almost indefinitely. He undertakes an experiment using African lore to die and resurrect his own body thereby assuring his immortality. His followers begin a revolutionary movement to destroy European civilization.

Quote:9/19/2012 @ 7:29AM |11,144 views Forbes

To Catch Government Workers With Ties to Child Porn, Call the IRS

by Lori Handrahan, Ph.D.

Last week the IRS decided to award Bradley Birkenfeld his $104 million dollar share for helping bust UBS bank. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and his staff were instrumental. Senator Grassley vowed to delay pending Department of Treasury nominations if the IRS Whistleblower Program, he wrote the legislation in 2006, continued to be mismanaged.

This powerful voice from Iowa has been a beacon in the storm during an Obama Administration that has targeted whistleblowers and prevented accountability as never before. The Pentagon is also under Senator Grassley's fire for failing to examine 1,700 of the 5,200 reports of employees doing child porn. The Pentagon claimed it "wasn't a priority." Senator Grassley and his staff have made it one. The closed investigation into wide-spread use of child porn at the Pentagon is now re-opened.

There is a national crisis of federal employees engaged in the child porn industry and a related epidemic at the state level. I've documented two states, Vermont and Maine, that appear to be running state protected child trafficking rings with evidence of cops, judges, lawyers, clergy and government employees covering for each other. This kind of racketeering creates powerful, and extremely profitable, pedophile rings.

Money drives the crime. It is estimated that a criminal willing to molest a child in front of a live webcam can earn $1,000 a night. In Kittery Maine, at the "Danish Health Club," one bust yielded $6.1 million in "door fees" over a five year period with "prostitutes" earning $12 million. Pimps' earnings were not reported. The "door man" was a retired police officer whose wife worked in back. This bust happened because of one hard-working IRS agent, Rod Giguere.

An estimated $1.4 billion has been collected by the IRS's Whistleblower program since 2006; $464 million collected in 2010 but only $48 million in 2011. Half of all global child porn is produced in America. Ten new images of children are posted daily. Estimates of the global profits from child porn range from $3-20 billion. Imagine what the IRS Whistleblower program could collect if they focused on child trafficking as Agent Rod Giguere did in Maine.

The Department of Justice (DOJ)'s Child Exploitation and Obscenities unit has been, by many accounts, totally disabled under US Attorney General Eric Holder. Mr. Holder even refused to prosecute his own Assistant United States Attorney caught doing child porn on DOJ computers. The IRS wants 4,000 new agents and a $300 million budget to enforce ObamaCare. Instead, these resources should be allocated, entirely, for an IRS Child Exploitation & Trafficking Unit.

With so many police, judges, clergy, state and federal employees across America involved in the child porn industry Americans should be able to turn to the IRS's Whistleblower program. Richard Weber, Chief of IRS's Criminal Division in Washington DC, is one point of contact. Apparently, the IRS cares about trafficked children. That's good news because America's Attorney General, Eric Holder, does not.

Child trafficking and porn are the fastest growing crimes in America. With billions being laundered in black money it makes solid economic sense for the IRS to focus on the child porn industry. Eric Holder's Department of Justice has demonstrated they have no interest in prosecuting pedophiles, not even their own. The IRS should be given substantial resources to compensate for DOJ's disgraceful failure. American tax-payers, not to mention America's children, will reap huge rewards.

Perhaps Senator Grassley will raise his powerful voice in support.

Lori Handrahan, Ph.D., is a professor at American University's School of International Service researching the national and international security ramifications of America's child porn industry. She can be reached at handraha@american.edu

Jan Klimkowski Wrote:It's a global industry, and a global disgrace.

As an aside, I'm surprised this academic crassly calls paedophile imagery "child porn".

Once again, there is no such thing as "child porn". These are images of children being abused.

Quote:The Department of Justice (DOJ)'s Child Exploitation and Obscenities unit has been, by many accounts, totally disabled under US Attorney General Eric Holder. Mr. Holder even refused to prosecute his own Assistant United States Attorney caught doing child porn on DOJ computers. The IRS wants 4,000 new agents and a $300 million budget to enforce ObamaCare. Instead, these resources should be allocated, entirely, for an IRS Child Exploitation & Trafficking Unit.

With so many police, judges, clergy, state and federal employees across America involved in the child porn industry Americans should be able to turn to the IRS's Whistleblower program. Richard Weber, Chief of IRS's Criminal Division in Washington DC, is one point of contact. Apparently, the IRS cares about trafficked children. That's good news because America's Attorney General, Eric Holder, does not.

Child trafficking and porn are the fastest growing crimes in America. With billions being laundered in black money it makes solid economic sense for the IRS to focus on the child porn industry. Eric Holder's Department of Justice has demonstrated they have no interest in prosecuting pedophiles, not even their own. The IRS should be given substantial resources to compensate for DOJ's disgraceful failure. American tax-payers, not to mention America's children, will reap huge rewards.

Quote:Lawyers of abuse victims accuse NatWest of 'milking' Jimmy Savile's estate

Fears grow that assets are shrinking and that there will not be enough money to compensate those who suffered


Mark Townsend
The Observer, Saturday 13 April 2013 15.33 BST

Jimmy Savile's estate has been shrinking in value. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod

NatWest has been accused of "robbing" the victims of Jimmy Savile after the bank spent more than £1m earmarked as compensation for individuals sexually abused by the disgraced television presenter.

The bank, trustee of Savile's estate, put on hold the distribution of its assets last October in the face of impending compensation claims from individuals sexually abused by the late DJ. The move was initially welcomed by lawyers representing victims on the assumption that it would ensure that the estate could provide compensation.

The estate was worth £4.3m, but during the subsequent six months its value has fallen to £3m, a significant reduction that has infuriated lawyers acting for the victims of one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders.

A legal source with knowledge of the Savile estate claimed that the reason for the huge drop is because of the costs NatWest is incurring in administrating Savile's estate, including its lawyers' fees. The expenditure has triggered accusations that money destined for the victims is being depleted at an alarming rate

Savile had been a household name since he presented the first Top Of The Pops in 1964. Around 450 victims have come forward to allege incidents against Savile, who was knighted in 1996 and who died 18 months ago aged 84.

Pannone solicitors, representing 40 alleged victims, raised their misgivings over NatWest's handling of the Savile estate when issuing a writ at the high court in February. Alan Collins, specialist child abuse solicitor at Pannone, said he was concerned to learn of reports that the estate had been eroded.

Collins said: "We are trying to solve this situation with NatWest and are endeavouring to provide just and proper compensation. We are concerned that large sums of money that could have helped victims rebuild their lives are no longer there."

Although £70,000 of the estate was spent on Savile's funeral in November 2011 at Leeds cathedral, the rest of the money appears to have been spent by the bank. A legal source involved with the estate said: "If NatWest and its lawyers are milking the estate, it's offensive. The estate is being stripped out. It's as if they've thought they can make money out of this, as if they've viewed the whole thing as a gravy train. They are robbing Savile's victims, let alone the beneficiaries, who at this rate will probably end up with nothing," he added.

NatWest is a member of the RBS group, which recently announced a huge increase in operating profits to £3.46bn and was embroiled in the scandal surrounding interest mis-selling rate swaps and fixing the Libor rate.

The reputation of the banking sector came under fresh scrutiny last week when former HBOS chief executive Sir James Crosby asked for his knighthood to be removed following a critical report into the bank's collapse during the financial crisis.

According to Savile's will, drawn up in 2006, the man described by police as a "predatory sex offender" aimed to bequeath his savings and other assets to 26 separate beneficiaries, including the Jimmy Savile Charitable Trust.

It is believed Savile could have abused hundreds of children over a 40-year period. The Met's Operation Yewtree has confirmed it is investigating hundreds of claims from people who say they were victims dating as far back as the 1950s. The full scale of Savile's 54-year campaign of abuse was detailed in a joint police and NSPCC report in January. It revealed that Savile's youngest victim was an eight-year-old boy and that he also abused seriously ill children. There are at least 214 criminal offences recorded against his name, including 34 rapes.

Lawyers who specialise in abuse claims say damages in such cases could reach £20,000 but could be much more in individual cases and would depend on factors including the nature of the sexual abuse, frequency, the child's age and proven psychiatric injury. Savile is alleged to have carried out abuse on BBC premises and other institutions including the high-security psychiatric hospital Broadmoor, Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary.

A NatWest spokesman said: "All expenses to date have been approved through the court. We are working with the legal representatives of claimants and beneficiaries to agree future costs."

Magda Hassan Wrote:A group representing victims of child abuse has revealed that several survivors have received death threats, warning them against giving evidence to the Royal Commission.The group says the threats have come from individuals inside the Catholic Church, and are yet another barrier to survivors coming forward.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/video/26123843696/Catholic-abuse-victims-receive-death-threats

Quote:Thatcher's dad: mayor, preacher, groper

Alderman Roberts of Grantham liked to squeeze more than his sausages, reports Keith Nuthall

KEITH NUTHALL


SUNDAY 22 JUNE 1997

Alderman Alfred Roberts, revered father of Margaret Thatcher and inspirer of her Victorian values, sexually harassed young female assistants working in the grocer's shop where she grew up, according to the distinguished political biographer Professor Bernard Crick.
Writing in the satirical magazine Punch, the political theorist, commentator and biographer of George Orwell recounts claims from contemporaries of the one-time Methodist preacher, pillar of society and Mayor of Grantham, Lincolnshire, that he "was a notorious toucher-up".


The assaults supposedly took place about 60 years ago, behind the counter of the shop, next to the "splendid mahogany spice drawers with sparkling brass handles (and) large, black, lacquered tea canisters", recalled in her autobiography by Baroness Thatcher, whose decisive endorsement of William Hague as Conservative leader last week has renewed her influence with the Tory right.


"Older teachers," Professor Crick was told by a Grantham friend, "all remembered their difficulty in trying, good women, to steer girls away from taking jobs at his shop.


"They were frightened to hint at the real reason: for he was a figure of real power in the town."


Crick, emeritus professor of the University of London, said that he learnt of the allegations in the mid-1980s, when the then Prime Minister was promoting the Victorian values of thrift and self-reliance that she had admired in her Rotarian father.


Her comments made the left-wing academic realise that he held the seeds of a story that could damage the Conservatives. Before the 1987 general election, he said, he gave the story to a friendly Daily Mirror journalist, who then declined to alert his newsdesk, fearing the wrath of owner Robert Maxwell, should it create too much controversy.


The story remained a secret until it appeared in Punch last week, although he had tried to persuade the magazine to publish it before this year's election.


Lady Thatcher's office said that the former Prime Minister had no comment.


However, although tales of her father's alleged sexual misconduct might not have been known nationally, they have been common currency in Grantham for years, it was clear last week.


Peter Hadlow, 76, lived next-door-but-one to the Robertses, and overheard many conversations about the scandal when working as an apprentice electrician. "Quite a broad spectrum of people said it. It was all over Grantham virtually," he said. "I would hear the boss talking about it. My ears were flapping - that sounds juicy, I thought.


"These stories were bandied about, and eventually you begin to believe there was some truth in them. But he was an Alderman and so that sort of thing got hushed up. It was a question of who do you believe - a teenage girl, or Mr Roberts?"


Mr Hadlow still lives in the same area of the town and added: "Funnily enough, when he gave up running the shop, he changed into a really nice bloke".


More significant still were the comments of a 74-year-old woman from Grantham, who told the Independent on Sunday that she had been molested on frequent occasions by Alderman Roberts, when she worked in his shop, aged just 15.


She said: "He was a bad one. He came round and put his arms around me, feeling my breasts. He used to put his tongue in my mouth.


"I got quite frightened. I didn't like it and I'd push him away. He'd say nothing and go, but then he would come back again. He used to chase other girls round the counter." She worked at the shop for six months until she told her parents what was happening. Her father told her she should not return.


The woman, who does not wish to be named, was then a chorister at the Methodist chapel where Alderman Roberts was a lay preacher. "One Sunday, I got up and walked out. I couldn't stand him standing up there and preaching," she said.


It was only then, when her parents challenged her to explain her behaviour, that she told them about the harassment she had suffered at the hands of the Alderman.


Professor Crick said that his piece was "written in the spirit of good- humoured satiric rage".


He said he had wanted it to be published before the general election. "I was so angry at the Conservative Party using all that family values stuff. To use it for political purposes is really quite off. It debases politics and in the end, you get caught out. It's a great offence to exploit and mythologise the past for political purposes."


Punch also sent a reporter to Grantham, who found pensioners willing to recount lurid tales about the grocer. One elderly resident claimed that she had two cousins working at the shop. "He was forever pinching their bums when they bent over - and looking up their skirts."


Journalist Richard Creasy wrote: "Memories of Alderman Alf raise a smirk amongst the pensioners who remember him far from fondly."


Paul Spike, editor of Punch, said: "People have been talking about this, but no one has been willing to run this until now. Crick has been talking about it for decades - he's a known responsible figure.


"We're not saying this has been established in a court of law. We thought we should check it out further. That's as much as we could get."


The rumours about Alderman Roberts took on fictional form in a novel about Thirties Grantham, Rotten Borough, written by local journalist Oliver Anderson and published in 1937. It featured a councillor who ran a corner grocery shop and was given to frolicking with his female assistants. At one point he is caught in flagrante beside the pork pies and polony sausages when a faulty light is switched on and passers-by see him, trousers down, through the shop window.


Rotten Borough was withdrawn from sale after just three weeks following threats from the Grantham establishment, including an earl and MP, of legal action. In 1989 it was republished by Fourth Estate. Its author died last year.

Quote:

Sally Bercow 'not some kitchen table blogger'

Sally Bercow, who is being sued for libel over a tweet she posted, was not "some kitchen table blogger", the High Court has heard.


Lord McAlpine is seeking damages over the tweet which he says linked him to false claims of child abuse.


The peer was falsely accused after a BBC Newsnight investigation. He was not named on the programme but was wrongly identified on the internet.


Mrs Bercow, the Speaker's wife, denies that her tweet was defamatory.


Last November, a Newsnight programme accused a "leading Conservative politician from the Thatcher years" of sexually abusing boys in the care of a children's home in Wales in the 1970s and 1980s, but it did not name Lord McAlpine.


There followed widespread speculation about the politician's identity and, two days after the broadcast, Mrs Bercow tweeted: "Why is Lord McAlpine trending. *innocent face*."


She went on to apologise in four subsequent tweets,


The BBC apologised unreservedly to Lord McAlpine for wrongly and falsely implicating him. It settled his defamation claim for £185k.


Several other high-profile figures also mentioned Lord McAlpine's name on the social networking site, Twitter.


'Sealed cave'
At Tuesday's hearing, Lord McAlpine's QC, Sir Edward Garnier, told Mr Justice Tugendhat that Mrs Bercow's Twitter following of almost 60,000 was bigger than the readership of some local newspapers.


"We are not talking about some kitchen table blogger addressing perhaps herself and one other person," he said.


"We are talking about a pretty widespread readership."


Sir Edward told court that, in the context of the Newsnight broadcast and the media coverage, only "a moron in a hurry" or an "anchorite in a sealed cave" could not have known the meaning of the tweet.


Ms Bercow's counsel, William McCormick QC, said she had promptly tweeted an apology, written letters apologising for the distress caused and making clear that the underlying allegations were untrue.


He said she had made an offer to settle the case which had not been withdrawn.


Neither Lord McAlpine nor Mrs Bercow appeared in court on Tuesday.


Granting an application by Lord McAlpine, the judge ordered that there should be a preliminary hearing on what was the actual meaning of the words used in the tweet - both a natural and ordinary meaning and an innuendo meaning.

Quote: Nechemya Weberman, Satmar Hasidic counselor, sentenced to 103 years for sexual abuse of teen girl

With her voice quivering and her slender body shaking, an Orthodox Jewish teen repeatedly violated and sexually tormented by her community counselor in Williamsburg, starting when she was just 12, bravely asked a judge to bring this "monstrous perpetrator" to justice.Judge John Ingram did not fail her, sentencing 54 year old Nechemya Webermana father of 10 to 103 years in state prison, noting of the beautiful, blonde victim "Her youth was taken away from her."