MAJOR CHILD PORN RING BUSTED

Courtesy of the FBI

MAJOR CHILD PORN RING BUSTED
And 20 Children Rescued Worldwide

03/06/08

“Mala is to die for in those pigtails,” read one message.

“I have a few 5yo [year old] Taras that you do not have,” read another.

“Just dropping in for a hot minute … to help out the dry spell, and to give everyone something to do for an afternoon,” said still one more.

They’re hard comments to read—when you know that they were posted in a massive secret child pornography newsgroup on the web. 

That sordid network was exposed this week, thanks to a global law enforcement operation spanning five countries, three continents, and 11 U.S. states. As part of the continuing investigation, a total of 22 men have been arrested, including 14 in America, four in Germany, and two each in Australia and the U.K. 

Even more satisfying: over the course of the international operation, about 20 victims have been rescued. Investigative efforts to identify and rescue more victims are continuing. 

See the full breakdown of statistics.

The international investigation was groundbreaking in three main ways: 

1) It dismantled one of the largest (more than 400,000 images and videos were posted, traded, and trafficked) and most sophisticated child exploitation rings we’ve ever come across. For example, the group used powerful encryption tools to keep the operation secret and a multi-layered system to vet new members. “These people went to a lot of trouble to keep from being discovered,” said Steve Tidwell, the FBI Executive Assistant Director who oversees our national criminal programs. “They had a level of operational security that we’ve not seen before.”  

For More Information From the FBI newscenter

– Indictment press release
– Innocent Images website
– Innocent Images overview
– Innocent Images statistical accomplishments
– Innocent Images International Task Force

2) It marked the first use in the United States of the “child exploitation enterprise” provisions of the Adam Walsh Act of 2006. The ring, in fact, was run very much like a business, with various players handling different roles, direction coming from the top down, and the sadistic images serving as currency. Again, a sophisticated operation.

3) It involved extensive real-time and high-level global cooperation, with countries sharing not only information and intelligence but actual investigators. The operation began in January 2006 when an officer of the Queensland Police Services in Australia learned about the group. Since a number of the members were living in the U.S., Queensland authorities came to the FBI that June; we launched our investigation two months later, working through our Innocent Images National Initiative. The officer who infiltrated the ring came to U.S. and worked with us directly through our International Innocent Images Task Force in our command center in suburban Maryland. We sent agents to Australia as well. Also participating in the investigation were the BKA Child Pornography Unit in Germany, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the United Kingdom, and the Toronto Police Department in Canada. 

“We have nothing but gratitude for the FBI and its Innocent Images program,” said Chief Superintendent Ross Barnett of the Queensland Police Services. “This operation wouldn’t have been a success without the investigative expertise and support the Bureau brought to the table.” 

And we, in turn, thank Chief Superintendent Barnett and our other global partners for a truly seamless operation that helped take down, in the words of one of the defendants, “the greatest group of pedos to ever gather in one place.”

Technorati tags: FBI, Child molester, Child Porn, Adam Walsh Act of 2006, Child Exploitation. international investigation

Is Another Congressman Guilty of TREASON???

DISCLAIMER: The different points of views on the Rick Roberts are not supported nor do they reflect the views and beliefs of The Bosun Locker or any entity affiliated with The Bosun.

ANOTHER CONGRESSMAN GUILTY OF TREASON… 
Courtesy of  Rick Roberts, KFMB San Diego
October 19th, 2007

Congressman Pete Stark is a liberal, democrat congressman from the Amsterdam of the United States: San Fran-sicko.

HE NEEDS TO RESIGN. WHY? JUST READ SOME OF WHAT HE SAID IN CONGRESS YESTERDAY:

“The Republicans are worried that we can’t pay for insuring an additional 10 million children. They sure don’t care about finding 200 billion dollars to fight the illegal war in Iraq. Where are you going to get that money? Are you going to tell us lies like you’re telling us today? Is that how you’re going to fund the war?

You don’t have money to fund the war or children. But you’re going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president’s amusement.

But the President Bush’s statements about children’s health shouldn’t be taken any more seriously than his lies about the war in Iraq. The truth is that Bush just likes to blow things up in Iraq, in the United States, and in Congress”.

Disgusting, is it not?

I am SICK AND TIRED of these corrupt politicians forgetting the vital, big-as-life fact that our brave military is an all-volunteer army.

Our men in uniform are a throwback to the brave souls that fought for our freedoms during WWII; they are a intelligent, strong, courageous, and selfless force.

A single soldier has more guts in their little finger than Stark, Durbin, Reid (and countless others) COMBINED.

But the democrats don’t see it that way. They see our nation’s military as a bunch of children strong-armed by evil conservatives to fight a nonexistent enemy.

I’M SICK OF IT!! Each and every one of these democrats- like Stark, like Reid, like Turban Durbin- need to STEP DOWN. They’re not worthy of leadership. We’re at war with a VERY REAL enemy. These officials need to be pulled away from their cushy executive chairs and thrown out in the middle of Fallujah without protection so that they can see what’s REALLY going on.

So you don’t believe there’s an enemy, Rep. Stark? You believe that our brave servicemen are having their “heads blown off” by a herd of President Bush clones in bed sheets? Because looking at the context of what you’re currently saying and what you’ve said in the past- that seems to be what you think!

But I digress…

Do you want to vent? Call Rep. Stark’s office. Give them a piece of your mind:

510-494-1388

Or fax:

510-494-5852

Email via web form HERE.

Or call his D.C. office at…

202-225-5065

You can also fax his D.C. office:

202-226-3805

Tell Stark that he does NOT represent the State of California. Tell Stark that he’s a DISGRACE to the United States of America and everything that it was founded on. Individuals like him do not deserve to be in the House. They deserve to be on a stake!!

Comments at Rick Roberts site »

Technorati tags: rick roberts, congress, treason, durbin, representative stark, san francisco, iraq war, illegal war, us military, america

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FBI Violent Gang Taskforce

 

 About 30,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs with approximately 800,000 members operate in the U.S. today. Many are sophisticated and well organized; all use violence to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal money-making activities, which include drug trafficking, robbery, theft, fraud, extortion, prostitution rings, and gun trafficking. Here, you’ll find more on the threats posed by gangs, on how you can help spot and prevent gang activity, and on how we’re redoubling our efforts to disrupt and dismantle them through intelligence-driven investigations and new initiatives and partnerships.

Other Resources

• New L.A. Gang Task Force
• Director on Gang Response
• MS-13 Up Close
• How We’re Targeting MS-13
• Fighting Global Gangs

• Recent Statistics
• Violent Gang Task Forces
• Success Stories
• Gallery

• National Gang Threat Assessment (pdf)
• Gang Toolkit for Parents, Educators, Police
• National Youth Gang Center

MS-13 National Gang Task Force

 Based at FBI headquarters, the MS-13 National Gang Task Force combines the expertise, resources, and jurisdiction of federal agencies that investigate this violent international street gang. It focuses on maximizing the flow of information and intelligence, coordinating investigations, and helping state and local law enforcement improve operations and prosecutions targeting MS-13. The task force can be reached by calling (202) 324-5340.

National Gang Intelligence Center

To help curb the growth of gangs and related criminal activity, the FBI spearheaded the creation of the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) in 2005. A multi-agency effort, the NGIC integrates gang intelligence from across federal, state, and local law enforcement on the growth, migration, criminal activity, and association of gangs that pose a significant threat to the U.S. Its mission is to support law enforcement by sharing timely and accurate information and by providing strategic/tactical analysis of intelligence.

Technorati tags: ms-13, violent, la gangs, global gangs, international street gangs, international crime, fbi, united states

UN Mismanagement update: turns a blind eye in more aid fraud

Courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald (Hattip to World Net Daily)

UN turns a blind eye to reports of million-dollar aid fraud

TSUNAMI reconstruction funds worth $US500 million are being lost to fraud and corruption because of the failure by the United Nations to implement its own anti-fraud measures.

This claim is made by the UN’s former deputy director of investigations, Frank Montil, a former ASIO officer who for a decade was the deputy director of the UN’s internal watchdog unit, set up to investigate fraud and corruption within the UN and its agencies.

In an exclusive interview with the Herald, Mr Montil said “the oil-for-food scandal taught them nothing”. The fraud and corruption which had been occurring during the tsunami reconstruction period would come back to haunt the UN, which had willfully ignored all the warning signs.

For the rest of the story: UN turns a blind eye to reports of million-dollar aid fraud

Previous stories at World Net Daily:

The day U.N. killed 227,000

New anti-U.N. ad debuts

Americans reject U.N. relief control

Quake, roaring sea, … now pestilences

---

Previous commentaries at World Net Daily:

U.N.: Poster child of irrelevancy

Tsunami relief: Let’s finally hold the U.N. accountable

America the stingy

Stingy Sam

U.N. unqualified for relief effort

Technorati tags: un, united nations, fraud, corruption, reconstruction, tsunami-devastated Indonesia, Australia

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Unemployment Low, Stock Market High — But NYT Sees Economy In "Turmoil"

Courtesy of Times Watch

Unemployment Low, Stock Market High — But NYT Sees Economy In “Turmoil”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has soared of late, closing Wednesday at 13,968, just a hundred points off its all-time high of 14,087 reached on Monday. The unemployment rate was a low 4.6% in August. Yet if you believe Times reporters and headline writers, the economy is in crisis and turmoil.

The front page of Dealbook, a special business section of the Times included in Wednesday’s paper, trumpeted: “After the Party.” The text box read: “In a market gone sour, the messy business of buyouts puts reputations on the line.”

Andrew Ross Sorkin’s actual article on buyouts and related credit market problems didn’t directly address the stock market, but it was misleadingly accompanied by an archive photo of the floor of the New York Stock Exchange being swept up in 1938, implying that the current stock market had “gone sour.” But the market had closed the following day, Tuesday, at 14,047, just one day off its all-time high Monday of 14,087.

On Thursday’s Page 1, resident economic gloom merchant Louis Uchitelle’s “For Baltimore, Housing Slump Slows a Revival” had uncovered national economic “turmoil” by the end of his second paragraph.

“Until recently, the ballyhoo was not much needed. The revival was going well, in Baltimore and in other cities making the transition away from manufacturing. But now, the banners are the most visible evidence of the incipient damage to this major American city from the turmoil in the national economy.

“As home sales dry up, tax revenues fade, foreclosures surge and hiring declines, a new caution is inhibiting activity.”

Also on Thursday, in the Business section, reporter Edmund Andrews found yet another economic “crisis” brewing in “Democrats Split on Ways to Ease Housing Crisis.”

“Democratic leaders in Congress remain divided about how to address the growing crisis in housing and home foreclosures involving borrowers who took out subprime mortgages.”

Technorati tags: economy, economics, subprime mortgages, housing slump slowdown, tax revenues, forclosures, employment, unemployment, dow, dealbook, democratic leaders, domestic politics

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The Evolving Terroris Landscape

AL QAEDA TODAY

The Evolving Terrorist Landscape

Courtesy of the FBI

A 22-year-old student—code-named “Irhabi 007”—creating a global virtual support network for terrorist plotters in Canada, Denmark, Bosnia, and the U.S., all from his basement apartment computer in London.

Small but sophisticated groups tapping into the larger al Qaeda brand—perhaps even receiving funding and training from bin Laden & Co.—but operating largely as independent terrorist franchises.

Homegrown, self-radicalized extremists inspired by the violent dogma of al Qaeda germinating plans to gun down soldiers at Fort Dix and blow up a pipeline at J.FK. Airport.

It’s the new shape of terrorism—specifically al Qaeda driven or inspired—as outlined Friday by Director Mueller at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

In the speech, the Director describes the new three-tiered threat posed by al Qaeda and its diverse band of affiliates and supporters around the world, whether that is in suburban basements, in ungoverned spaces or tribal areas in places like Pakistan and Africa, or in the shadows of the Internet.

“When America’s hammer fell on al Qaeda, al Qaeda broke into a hundred pieces,” the Director said. “Some of our adversaries were stopped, but others spread. The network is now diffuse.”

Especially in cyberspace, which the Director called “terrorism’s new frontier, offering both persuasive inspiration and practical instruction.” In the case of Younis Tsouli—aka “Irhabi 007” or “Terrorist 007”—the web was a tool to teach both the ideology and technology of terrorism. Tsouli, traced through a telephone number found in a terrorist safe house in Bosnia, posted thousands of files online, ranging from “videotaped beheadings to detailed manuals for constructing car bombs and suicide vests.”

And how to respond to this ever-evolving threat? With a united front that transcends national boundaries, agency jurisdictions, and national security disciplines. The Director says the FBI’s goal is to be an “effective bridge” in exactly those areas…and he gave several examples of how we’re filling that role today:

• By working alongside the military in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, operating as a team to “search safe houses, collect biometric evidence, analyze explosive devices, and trace terrorist financing.”
• By becoming a fully integrated member of the Intelligence Community, with stronger than ever relationships with the CIA and the Department of Homeland Security.
• By sharing information “on a daily basis with our intelligence counterparts on every continent, from MI5 in Britain to the Mabahith in Saudi Arabia.”
• By working closely with our 800,000 state and local law enforcement partners in the U.S. and with our counterparts overseas through our international offices now located in 60 capitols worldwide.
• And by being a part of globally coordinated investigations, where in the Tsouli case, for example, many different countries “made joint decisions as to when to move in and disrupt the plots, so as to protect the integrity of each other’s operations.”

To learn more about the new face of terrorism and our role in intersecting the work of militaries, intelligence services, and law enforcement agencies, we encourage you to read the full speech.

Resources:

• Director’s remarks
• FBI Counterterrorism operations

Technorati tags: terror cell, terrorists, Younis Tsouli, Irhabi 007, Terrorist 007, radical Islam, afghanitan, iraq, safe house, bimetric evidence, terrorist financing, internet terrorism, Homegrown, self-radicalized extremists, al Qaeda, Fort Dix, J.FK. Airport, counterterrorism

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The Hippo and the Tortoise — a true story

Emailed to me from a friend.  Verified at Truth or Fiction.Com

NAIROBI (AFP) – A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa, officials said.  The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen  and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean , then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him.

“It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a ‘mother’,” ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park , told AFP.

“After it was swept away and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized.  It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother. Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond.
They swim, eat and sleep together,” the ecologist added.

“The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it followed its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother,” Kahumbu added.

“The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years,” he explained.

This is a real story that shows that our differences don’t matter much when we need the comfort of another.

Save the Earth … it’s the only planet with chocolate.

Technorati tags: hippo, giant tortoise, lafarga park, kenya, Tsunami Survivor, hippopotamus, nature, human interest, humanity

DHS Lawsuit Against Illinois Sends Clear Message

I received this email from FAIR. Checked the news and it was also carried by several other sources.

DHS Lawsuit Against Illinois Sends Clear Message to Local Governments to Quit Interfering in Immigration Enforcement

FAIR Applauds Administration for Decisive Step to Stop Employment of Illegal Aliens

Washington DC – The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) today applauded the decision by the Department of Homeland Security for filing suit against the State of Illinois and its attempt to thwart enforcement of federal immigration laws. A state law, approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, would bar employers in Illinois from using a federal database to verify the work eligibility of prospective employees. In recent years, Illinois has repeatedly instituted policies aimed at shielding illegal aliens.

Responding to overwhelming public sentiment in favor of enforcement of immigration laws, especially in the workplace, the Bush Administration has begun notifying employers when workers’ Social Security numbers do not match information in the government’s database. In an effort to assist employers who wish to comply with laws against hiring illegal aliens, the federal government has been encouraging them to utilize a database that allows them to verify Social Security numbers.

“Easy access to jobs in this country has long been the magnet that has drawn millions of illegal aliens here. As much, or perhaps even more, than securing the borders, preventing illegal aliens from finding jobs is the key to reversing mass illegal immigration,” noted Dan Stein, president of FAIR. “In taking steps to bar employers from using the Social Security Administration’s database to verify work eligibility until that database is virtually error free, is nothing more than a blatant attempt by state officials to further undermine immigration law enforcement. Perfection does not exist in this world, and we cannot expect it to be the standard for employment verification.”

The policy that Illinois is attempting to thwart includes generous provisions to allow individuals to correct errors in the database that might be found during the verification process. “The state’s effort is not about preventing errors, it is a politically motivated effort to prevent employers from identifying illegal aliens and complying with federal law,” charged Stein. “The suit by DHS to block implementation of state’s transparent effort to impede immigration enforcement in the workplace is the appropriate response to Illinois officials and a signal to other local governments that the federal government is serious about cracking down on businesses that hire illegal aliens.”

The federal suit also addresses serious constitutional issues by asserting the federal government’s right to enforce immigration laws everywhere in the country, even in jurisdictions that have made themselves de facto or formal sanctuaries for illegal aliens. “No state or local government can be permitted to stand in the way of the federal government’s unassailable right to carry out immigration enforcement. Federal law allows local governments to assist in immigration enforcement, but there is no opt-out provision that allows them to prevent immigration laws from being enforced.

Employers in Illinois must be permitted to comply with the same laws as employers in the other 49 states,” concluded Stein.
Also carrying:

• http://www.forbes.com/prnewswire/fee…___DCW046.html
• http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008627380
• http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cf…dcn=todaysnews
• http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/31494-1.html

Technorati tags: illinois, immigration, illegal Aliens, ice, immigration and customs enforcement, fair, Federation for American Immigration Reform, dhs, department of Homeland Security, bush, social security, illegal Aliens employment, guest workers

On The Spot: Should Congress Make Taxpayers Subsidize Columbia University?

 Courtesy of CNSNews.com

Rep. Duncan Hunter (Republican – California) on Monday threatened to cut off federal funding to Columbia University in New York City, which on Monday hosted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a speech and question-and-answer session with students.  (Iran, according to the State Department, is a state-sponsor of terrorism.)

“If the left-wing leaders of academia will not support our troops,” Hunter said in a statement, “they, in the very least, should not support our adversaries.”

Just why should the taxpayers subside Columbia University’s social agenda?   Since 1969, Columbia has banned military recruiters since 1969 and will not sanction a ROTC program.

Prior to the Vietnam War, Columbia cadets had peacefully coexisted with their classmates since the inception of ROTC in 1916. Columbia’s dedication to service was profound—at one point in its history the university was producing more officers per year than even the U.S. Naval Academy. In spite of Columbia’s military tradition, the administration expelled ROTC programs from campus in 1969 to appease student protesters and disgruntled faculty. When the war in Vietnam ended in 1975, students resumed their studies and the protests faded away. Columbia’s ban on ROTC, however, has remained to this day.  Source: Advocates for Columbia ROTC.

For the rest of the CNSNews story: On The Spot: Should Congress Make Taxpayers Subsidize Columbia University?

Duncan has already written a letter to Columbia University President Bollinger and releases a press release;

Press Release/Statement

For Immediate Release
September 22, 2007
CONTACT:  Joe Kasper
(202) 225-5672

HUNTER DENOUNCES COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY INVITATION TO IRANIAN PRESIDENT

Washington, D.C. – In a letter to Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) today criticized the University for inviting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak to students and faculty this coming Monday, September 24th.

 “This leader of state, which supports terrorists, is presently sending deadly roadside bombs across the Iraqi border to injure and kill American troops,” said Hunter.  “Columbia University’s hosting of Ahmadinejad is a slap in the face of the 165,000 U.S. troops serving in Iraq.  As he speaks, his agents will be moving roadside bombs onto the battlefield to be used against America’s military men and women. 

 This event, following the slanderous advertisement by MoveOn.org, depicting General Petraeus as “General Betray Us,” represents the emergence of the extreme left-wing of American politics. 

 Hunter concluded, “If this event takes place as scheduled, I intend to introduce legislation to cut-off Columbia University from every form of federal assistance.  If the left-wingers of academia will not support our troops, they, in the very least, should not support our adversaries.”

Please call, fax, and/or email your congressmen and congresswomen and express your outrage at taxpayer dollars subsiding a social agenda and undermining our military.

Use this link to: Contact Elected Representatives

Technorati tags: ahmadinejad, columbia university President Lee Bollinger, columbia university, congressional representatives, congressman duncan hunter, socialists, social agenda, liberalism

Ramos and Compean update; Ex-Border Patrol Agents file appeal

Courtesy of the Washington Times

Ex-border agents appeal convictions
September 24, 2007

     Two former U.S. Border Patrol agents sentenced to lengthy prison terms for shooting a drug-smuggling suspect have asked a federal appeals court to overturn their convictions, saying they were charged with a nonexistent crime and convicted after the jury was given improper instructions by the trial judge.

     Houston defense lawyer J. Mark Brewer said two counts of a grand jury indictment against former agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean charged them under a federal statute with the discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, but the statute does not define a crime and contains only a sentencing factor to be addressed after conviction.

     Mr. Brewer said in a 20-page motion that the “improperly-crafted indictment” misfocused the agents, counsel and jury on a nonexistent crime of unlawful discharge of a firearm, because the agents were authorized to possess, carry and use a firearm in the normal course of their job.

      He said that in order to charge a crime under the government’s 10-year mandatory sentence statute, an indictment “must allege that a defendant either has used or carried a firearm … during and in relation to any crime of violence or has possessed a firearm in furtherance of such a crime.” He said the prosecution “misstated” the crime defined by federal statute.

      Mr. Brewer said the district court “erroneously told the jury the federal statute made it a crime for anyone to discharge a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.”

     A ruling in the case is expected next month.

     “This is an outrageous case of prosecutorial abuse,” said Paul Kamenar, senior executive counsel for the Washington Legal Foundation, a watchdog group among eight organizations and persons who have filed briefs in support of the agents. “Instead of prosecuting the drug smuggler, the Justice Department filed a dozen felony charges against two agents trying to do their job.”

      The pending appeal is being heard by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans and seeks to overturn 11- and 12-year prison terms Ramos and Compean received, respectively…… For the rest of the story: Appeal

Technorati tags: ramos, compean & Ramos, compean, immigration, border patrol, Ignacio Ramos, Jose Alonso Compean, Washington Legal Foundation