Don’t cancel the child abuse inquiry. No matter how much it’s hurt us survivors

Theresa May

In early August when I heard that Lowell Goddard had chosen to step down from the child abuse inquiry, I literally started to cry. That she initially resigned without any explanation made it even worse. It was a sharp shock. Survivors of sexual abuse are used to the world opening up underneath their feet and dropping down into nothingness, and that same feeling of upset returned to me from over 30 years ago when I heard the news. The chaos, rumours, resignations and industrial-strength ineptness that have both preceded Goddard and, more disconcertingly, followed her exit – culminating this week in not only the departure of Ben Emmerson QC but also his deputy Elizabeth Prochaska – have left me with just a single question: what the actual fuck is happening here?

The key issue for me, and probably for most of the survivors who this inquiry was designed to give a voice to, is one of trust. Theresa May fought for this inquiry. She fought for us. Back in July 2014 when she announced it as home secretary, you could almost see the eye-rolling going on among certain Tory party members. Yet, to her immense credit, she persevered. And then came the catalogue of mistakes, disasters and obstructions that, to all but the most naive of us, simply scream cover-up.  (more...)

Don’t cancel the child abuse inquiry. No matter how much it’s hurt us survivors

Ireland Doesn’t Want Apple’s Back Taxes, but the Irish Aren’t So Sure

Apple’s campus in Cork, Ireland.

CORK, Ireland — When European officials ordered Ireland to collect a record $14.5 billion in back taxes from Apple, Kieran O’Connell drew up a wish list for spending the money.

A public social worker who deals with at-risk youth, Mr. O’Connell has faced drastic cuts since the Irish government imposed austerity measures six years ago during a financial crisis. His salary was frozen and his pension taxed. With his agency’s budget shrunk 30 percent, he hasn’t been able to replace staff, keep up with the demand for addiction and retraining programs or accommodate all the homeless teenagers looking for shelter.

“You could invest it in treatment centers, detox beds and community care,” said Mr. O’Connell, 50, who works in this southern Irish city, where Apple has had its European headquarters for more than 35 years.

But Ireland doesn’t want Apple’s billions. Instead, the Irish government is appealing Europe’s tax ruling, a move that is exposing a rift in a country still feeling the aftershocks from years of harsh cutbacks.  (more...)

Ireland Doesn’t Want Apple’s Back Taxes, but the Irish Aren’t So Sure

Background:

Crisis Pits Vatican Against Offshore Bankers

Will Apple make or break Europe?

Secret Alpine Gold Vaults Are the New Swiss Bank Accounts

Deep in the Swiss Alps, next to an old airstrip suitable for landing Gulfstream and Falcon jets, is a vast bunker that holds what may be one of the world’s largest stashes of gold. The entrance, protected by a guard in a bulletproof vest, is a small metal door set into a granite mountain face at the end of a narrow country lane. Behind two farther doors sits a 3.5-ton metal portal that opens only after a code is entered and an iris scan and a facial-recognition screen are performed. A maze of tunnels once used by Swiss armed forces lies within.

The owner of this gold vault wants to remain anonymous for fear of compromising security, and he worries that even disclosing the name of his company might lead thieves his way. He’s quick to dismiss questions about how carefully he vets clients but says many who come to him looking for a safe haven for their assets don’t pass his sniff test. “For every client we take, we turn one or two away,” he says. “We don’t want problems.”

Demand for gold storage has risen since the 2008 financial crisis. Many of the wealthy see owning gold as a hedge against the insecurity of banks and a reasonable investment at a time when markets are volatile and bank accounts and low-risk bonds pay almost no yield. It may also be a way to avoid the increasing scrutiny of tax authorities. In high-profile cases, U.S., French, and German prosecutors have gone after citizens of those countries with undeclared Swiss bank accounts.

Swiss storage operations such as these don’t have the same obligation that Swiss banks do to report suspicious transactions to federal regulators. Americans aren’t required under the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act to declare gold stored outside financial institutions.  (more...)

Secret Alpine Gold Vaults Are the New Swiss Bank Accounts

Related:

Freeports boom highlights risks of shady activities

Durham elementary school teacher Raymond Hubbard jailed after guilty plea to Internet child luring

DURHAM -- A Durham elementary school teacher charged earlier this year with luring a child pleaded guilty and was sentenced to jail time.  

Court records indicate that Raymond Hubbard of Ajax pleaded guilty in June to a single count of luring a child to facilitate sexual interference and was sentenced to 115 days in jail, after which he’s to be placed on probation for two years. Hubbard, 52, was given credit for the equivalent of 250 days in pretrial custody.  

Hubbard, a Grade 1 teacher whose last posting was at Terry Fox Public School in Ajax, was charged in early January with three counts of Internet luring. Durham police launched an investigation after receiving a tip from police in Michigan that a teenaged girl there had been involved in online communications with him.  

A Durham cop posing as a 14-year-old girl had further online conversations with the suspect; those communications led to arrangements to meet for a sexual encounter, police said.  (more...)

Durham elementary school teacher Raymond Hubbard jailed after guilty plea to Internet child luring

Toronto educator charged in alleged sexual assault of young boy

Police have charged a 36-year-old Toronto teacher and former daycare supervisor in connection with the sexual assault of a young boy.

The suspect worked at Not Your Average Daycare at 225 Livingston Rd. in Scarborough between January 2009 and August 2010.

Police said a boy, who was five to six years old at the time, was sexually assaulted by the suspect.

Gianni “John” Pate was arrested Tuesday and charged with sexual assault and sexual interference.

Pate is scheduled to appear in a Scarborough court on Nov. 18.

Toronto District School Board spokesman Ryan Bird told Global News Pate had served as an occasional teacher and early childhood educator at a number of schools since 2010.

“Most recently, he was an occasional teacher at J G Workman Public School. The charges announced by Toronto Police are not related to his employment with the TDSB,” Bird said.

“He’s been at [that school] since the beginning of the school year filling in as an occasional teacher. His last day was on Tuesday.”

Bird said in addition to J G Workman Public School, Pate also worked at Pape Avenue Public School, Selwyn Elementary School, Sprucecourt Public School and with a third party on-site childcare program at Guildwood Public School.  (more...)

Toronto educator charged in alleged sexual assault of young boy

The Vatican Bank, the Mafia and Freemasonry

Only thirty-three days after his election, Pope John Paul I,Albino Luciani, died in strange circumstances. Almost immediately rumours of a cover-up began to circulate around the Vatican. In his researches David Yallop uncovered an extraordinary story: behind the Pope's death lay a dark and complex web of corruption within the Church that involved the Freemasons, Opus Dei and the Mafia and the murder of the 'Pope's Banker' Roberto Calvi.

When first published in 1984 In God's Name was denounced by the Vatican yet became an award-winning international bestseller. In this new edition, Yallop brings the story up to date and reveals new evidence that has been long buried concerning the truth behind the Vatican cover-up. This is a classic work of investigative writing whose revelations will continue to reverberate around the world.

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People like this were recruiting at my alma mater in the 1970's

Financial Secrets Of The Vatican Exposed

Author Paul Williams joins Jim Paris Live to discuss his books Operation Gladio and Vatican Exposed. What financial secrets is the Vatican hiding? What links are there to money laundering and the Vatican bank? Who is really in control of the Catholic Church and its money? What unholy alliances exist between the Catholic church and the CIA. What is Operation Gladio and how has the church participated in this clandestine operation? Why has the Vatican charged two Italian reporters and put them on trial, and what secrets might they reveal?

Related:

Operation Gladio

Frank Gigliotti: Minister, Freemason, OSS and CIA

Operation Gladio [BBC Timewatch, 1992] State-Sponsored Terror

Material no mainstream Catholic media outlet would touch. You have to endure flaky Evangelical vloggers and annoying advertisements to hear William's story. I don't see him being interviewed on Salt & Light soon.