Canadian Convulsions > Shocking accusations against Justin Trudeau by Socialist News Site in Canada

 

The People's Voice is a socialist news site, which is why I know very little about it. The following story includes some well known facts as well as some facts that are not well known. 

Mainstream media in Canada has never investigated the reason why Trudeau was fired from West Point Grey Academy mid-season. Nor have the made any headlines with the fact that his roommate and fellow teacher at West Point Grey was a convicted paedophile. 

What's new in this story is that the girl Trudeau was supposed to have hooked up with at WPGA was only 12 years old. Also, his half-brother, who knew he had a half-brother, a successful business man, claims that Justin is a puppet of the WEF. 

It's odd that a socialist news site would attack the furthest left government in the history of Canada, knowing that they are playing into the hands of the Conservatives.

Justin Trudeau Accused of Sexually Abusing A

12-Year-Old Girl – Media Silent

The People's Voice

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9 Stories Including Lousy Cop on Today's USA PnP List

Abilene man sentenced to life for

sexually abusing 2 girls

Maria Aguilera  Andrew McMillan 

ABILENE, Texas - UPDATE: Howard Dee Sturgis (7th story on link) of Abilene was found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a child Thursday.

The jurors returned the verdict at about 4:35 p.m. before starting deliberation on a punishment. It didn't take long for the jury to determine Sturgis' sentence: life in prison.

Sturgis will not be eligible for parole due to the continuous aspect of the abuse.

SAPD fires detective who didn’t investigate

sexual assault, family violence cases

By Emilie Eaton 

The San Antonio police detective responsible for failing to investigate more than 130 sexual assault and family violence cases was fired Thursday, City Manager Sheryl Sculley announced.

Detective Kenneth Valdez, who has been with the department for 17 years, received an indefinite suspension, which is tantamount to firing, for insubordination; failing to act on DNA evidence; not properly preserving or handling evidence; and closing cases without approval from a supervisor, according to records released by the city.

“There simply is no excuse for such improper behavior, and Detective Valdez is not representative of the thousands of men and women in our Police Department who are passionately committed to protecting the most vulnerable among us,” Sculley said in a news release.

In fiscal year 2016, Valdez received about $157,100 in total compensation — including $23,955 in overtime, records show. It was not clear how much Valdez received in overtime other years.

Valdez — who hadn’t been named by the city prior to Thursday’s announcement — has not appealed the indefinite suspension yet, a spokesman for the city said Thursday afternoon. He has 15 days under the police union’s collective bargaining agreement to appeal.

On Thursday, Mayor Ron Nirenberg applauded Chief William McManus for his swift response.

“The mishandling of these cases cannot be taken lightly, and today’s response was in keeping with the seriousness of the situation,” Nirenberg said in a statement. “We will ensure that systemic issues discovered by the independent investigation are resolved and justice is delivered.”

At least twice, the Bexar County Crime Lab gave Valdez documentation of DNA in sexual assault cases that Valdez failed to act on.

Valdez did not submit evidence to the crime lab for 27 cases he was responsible for between Aug. 15, 2016, and Aug. 15, 2017. The evidence was found in the department’s property room.

Valdez failed to properly handle or preserve other evidence. When looking through Valdez’s office, officials found seven cell phones — two of which had no identifying case information — five untested cheek swabs, DVDs and CDs with no case information and a $50 in an envelope.

On three occasions, Valdez closed cases without forwarding them to a supervisor. In July of this year, a supervisor asked Valdez to perform additional tasks in five cases, but Valdez allegedly closed the cases anyway.

The announcement Thursday comes exactly a week after Sculley and McManus revealed the mishandled cases, making some of them ineligible for prosecution.

At the same time, a supervising lieutenant and two sergeants were transferred from the Special Victims Unit.

McManus said he became aware of the issue after supervisors with the unit noticed the division was not filing as many cases as usual with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office.

McManus said he thinks Valdez was the only officer in the unit who did not properly investigate cases, but if other officers were involved, they will be disciplined accordingly.

“There are any range of disciplinary actions, if it turns out that way,” McManus said last week.

The Special Victims Unit — formerly called Sex Crimes — is responsible for investigating about 28 different offenses, including human trafficking, family violence, child abuse and sexual assault. A large portion of the cases handled by the unit involve children.

Officials said it’s too soon to tell how many of the 130 cases were not prosecuted due to insufficient evidence. It’s also too soon to tell how many cases involved children.

2 child pornography arrests,

man accused of bestiality

By Ashley Remkus aremkus@al.com

The search of a DeKalb County home yielded two arrests for child pornography, as well as allegations that a man had sexual contact with a dog, lawmen said.

Robert Bishop was arrested Monday after investigators searched his home in Sylvania. Police and sheriff's deputies found a pornographic video of a 2-year-old, an investigator wrote in an arrest affidavit.

Additionally, 27-year-old Bishop "engaged in or submitted to any sexual contact with an animal...a German Shepherd," Investigator Scott Tarrant wrote in another affidavit.

The search of Bishop's home also led to the arrest of Ashley Hartline, a 26-year-old from Rainsville, said DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris. Hartline is accused of sexually abusing and sodomizing the 2-year-old, court records state. Hartline also is accused of recording the abuse and distributing pornographic videos, an arrest affidavit alleges.

Hartline is charged with first-degree sodomy, sexual abuse, dissemination of obscene material and production of obscene material. She faces up to life in prison and would be required to register as a sex offender, if convicted. Hartline was being held with bail set at $30,000.

Bishop is charged with two counts of dissemination of obscene matter and one count each of possession of obscene matter and bestiality. If convicted of all charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison. He also would be required to register as a sex offender. Bishop was being held in the DeKalb County Jail with bail set at $23,500.

Sylvania, AL

DCF orders Bright Horizons to pay $700 after

child sex abuse allegations

Day care will have its license put on probation for 6 months

By Adrienne Cutway - Web Editor

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Department of Children and Families has ordered an Orlando child care facility to pay $700 in fines, among other things, as part of a lawsuit settlement stemming from allegations of sexual abuse at the day care.

Bright Horizons Child Care and Learning Center in Baldwin Park first came under fire in May when allegations of that three preschool-aged children had been sexually abused by a teacher's assistant.

News 6 is not naming the teacher's assistant because he has not been charged with a crime, although his employment at the facility has been terminated.

DCF officials said the department's investigation found that the day care did not perform a proper background check before hiring the employee last year and that administrators should have heeded warnings from other employees about the man's inappropriate behavior.

Bright Horizons reached a settlement agreement with DCF while still denying the allegations made in the lawsuit.

As part of the settlement, Bright Horizons will pay $700 in fines, have its Gold Seal Quality Care designation revoked and have its license placed on probation for six months. DCF has rescinded its 90-day suspension of Bright Horizons's license.

The settlement document also listed several actions Bright Horizons has taken since the allegations came to light. That list includes new background checks for all employees, installing cameras, assigning new directors and implementing new childhood sexuality training for staff and parents.

Two civil lawsuits (8th story on link) against the day care are ongoing.

Second person accused of sexually abusing

child in Oswego County

By Samantha House shouse@syracuse.com,

RICHLAND, N.Y. -- A second person has been charged with sexually abusing a child younger than 11 years last summer in Oswego County.

Clifford Thurston, 33, of 3446 County Route 22, Orwell, was arrested Wednesday by the Oswego County Sheriff's Office. He has been accused of sexually abusing a boy who was younger than 11 years old, deputies said.

He was arrested less than two weeks after the arrest of Amanda Squadrito (4th story on link), 21, of Richland, deputies said.

The sexual abuse happened in Richland between June and August, deputies said.

Thurston was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, a felony, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

Squadrito was arrested on Oct. 20. Like Thurston, she was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

The co-defendants are being held in the Oswego County Jail in lieu of $15,000 cash or a $30,000 bond.

Graham Guilty All Counts Sex Abuse of Minors

Rita Dukes Smith, SurfKY News Director

GREENVILLE, Ky. — It took jurors a little more than an hour and a half to reach verdicts in the child sex abuse/case of J. L. Graham today.

Jesse Graham faced six separate charges of sodomy and sexual abuse/victims under age 12 involving two victims.

The Muhlenberg Circuit Court jury found Graham guilty of four counts of first-degree sodomy and two counts of first-degree sex abuse.

Graham remained stoic during the verdict readings.

Commonweath’s Attorney Ralph Vick finished his final remarks in the trial in which Graham was accused of sex abuse and sodomy of two boys aged 8-9 at the time of his arrest in October 2016.

The jury left for its deliberation at 12:07 p.m. and returned at 2:15 p.m. with a finding of guilty on all counts.

Both boys and parents testified that Graham became trusted and loved by the victims and their families over a period of time. After the trust was gained, Graham used their trust and affection to get into intimate situations with the boys including overnight trips, Vick said in closing remarks.

Vick told jurors that Graham targeted the boys and used their love of video games to find ways to be in the boys’ bedrooms. He also said the two boys were in separate households and had separate families and that Graham was working to entrust both at about the same time.

One victim and parent testified that Graham gave the boy an expensive guitar and threatened to take it back if the boy told anyone about their activities.

Graham’s public defender James Chamberlain told jurors that both boys initially denied anything happened when asked if they had been touched inappropriately. He said the boys initially lied and had been coached in telling their stories.

Graham testified in his defense denying any wrongdoing regarding the youths. He maintained his innocence throughout the process from being charged and throughout his testimony in court today, said Chamberlain in closing remarks.

The jury is now considering the penalty phase.

Ex-school trustee shared porn in group,

planned sex trip with girl, affidavit says

BY DOMINGO RAMIREZ JR.

Former Northwest school district Trustee Mel Fuller was a member of group that shared nude photos of young people, and he received child porn from a man who claimed to be a pastor, according to an affidavit.

Fuller also admitted to federal agents that he recently downloaded pictures of a family friend’s young daughter from Facebook and planned to abuse her, according to the probable cause affidavit obtained by the Star-Telegram on Thursday.

He is the second Northwest school board member under a criminal investigation for a youth-related crime since 2012. Former Trustee Kerry D. Jones was indicted in 2013 by a Denton County grand jury on four counts of improper relationship between an educator and a student. His trial is pending.

Fuller was arrested Tuesday and faces a charge of possession of child pornography, according to Denton County jail records.

The school district said in a statement released Thursday that Fuller resigned Wednesday.

Fuller, who had been on the school board since 2008, posted $25,000 bond on the day he was arrested, according to jail records.

Federal agents and police from Trophy Club and Flower Mound executed a search warrant on Fuller’s home in Trophy Club on Aug. 31, according to the affidavit. Fuller, who is married, was home but he was not arrested.

‘Play every other weekend’

The affidavit gave this account of the case:

In December 2016, agents with Homeland Security were alerted by Ontario Provincial police about an internet user with the name PASTOR4YNG1 who later used the name HORNYPASTOR, PASTORONY and PASTORSDAUGHTER666. The user posted images of children he sexually abused that he claimed were from his church and other churches.

In the investigation, agents determined that the pastor had communicated with a user named DAVEBARD in December 2016, and at least two images and one video appeared to be child sexual abuse material.

In April, the investigation showed that the DAVEBARD account was registered to an email address, melfuller4@gmail.com and that person was Mel Fuller, according to the affidavit.

At some point, a federal agent reached out to Fuller through DAVEBARD, and asked him if he had any images or videos he wanted to share. Fuller sent the agent images of a 16-year-old teenage girl in a bikini, saying he was taking her to Mexico on Labor Day and she would perform sex acts on him.

“She and I play every other weekend,” Fuller told the agent. “Everything but _____.”

Fuller also told the agent he was in a group that shares nude photos, but it had closed for anyone else to join.

At the time, Fuller was working for an organization involved in college admission ACT tests and the Texas Education Agency, federal agents said.

During the Aug. 31 search of his home, Fuller admitted he used the DAVEBARD account to receive child pornography.

Hearing is Friday in other case

In the other criminal case involving an ex-Northwest trustee, a hearing Friday is set to determine if Kerry D. Jones goes to trial on Nov. 13 in Denton.

Jones, who is out on $40,000 bail, also was a counselor at Colleyville Heritage High School and a reserve deputy constable in Denton County.

Jones is accused of having sexual encounters with a male student at Jones’ Trophy Club home between April 2010 and March 2011, according to Trophy Club police reports.

Authorities began an investigation into Jones after receiving a complaint in 2012 from a male student who was legally an adult. The student was 17 at the time of the first encounter, Trophy Club police said.

In August 2012, the student notified state Child Protective Services of the encounters, authorities said. At the time, Jones, the father of three adult sons, was a licensed foster parent caring for an 8-year-old boy. The student told a CPS caseworker that he was concerned Jones might do something inappropriate with the boy.

The boy was moved from Jones’ home and the Trophy Club man is no longer a licensed foster parent, according to CPS records. CPS subsequently informed Trophy Club police, and an investigation of the student’s complaint began. The investigation was presented to a Denton County grand jury, which indicted Jones in March 2013.

After the indictment, officials at Colleyville Heritage High School sent letters to parents indicating that police had confirmed that the alleged misconduct did not occur on school property and that no other students related to CHHS were involved.

Colleyville Heritage is in the Grapevine-Colleyville district. Trophy Club is in the Northwest school district.

Registered sex offender gets 33 years for

crimes against two kids in 2016

George Houde

Chicago Tribune

A registered sex offender was sentenced to 33 years in prison Tuesday after admitting he molested one young boy and attempted to molest another in separate incidents in Elk Grove Village and Bartlett last year.

Ryan French, 36, of Elk Grove Village, pleaded guilty to predatory criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse in connection with the incidents. One of the victims was 9 and the other was 13.

Assistant State’s Attorney Jaclyn Lantz said French approached the 13-year-old at a playground in Elk Grove Village last November and tried to lure the boy to an isolated area. The teen became wary and called his father, officials said. French was a registered sex offender and registered child predator at the time, Lantz said.

A day later, French lured the 9-year-old into a secluded stairwell at a Bartlett playground and molested him, Lantz said. A surveillance camera recorded him luring the boy, authorities said.

French, of the 1200 block of Diane Lane, was convicted in 2008 of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and was sentenced to three years in prison. French will have to serve 85 percent of his current sentence, Lantz said.

Conviction Upheld For Tulsa Man Found Guilty

Of Child Sexual Abuse

BY: NEWSON6.COM

TULSA, Oklahoma - The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld a Tulsa man's 2016 conviction of child sexual abuse and possession of child pornography. 

Joshua Gordon was convicted in September 2016 of sexually abusing a child and being in possession of nearly 300 images of child porn.

Gordon appealed the conviction and sentence. 

The state court of criminal appeals upheld his Thursday. 

Britain has Sold Saudi Arabia £6bn in Weapons Since Yemen War Began

What a world we live in when the fastest growing global industries

are child pornography and weapons manufacturing and sales.

Man can't possibly survive if we continue in this direction!

And, of course, it's always children who suffer the consequences of man's evils.

FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises at a community hall where Saudi-led warplanes struck a funeral in Sanaa, Yemen, October 9, 2016 © Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

British arms companies have earned £6 billion ($8bn) from selling weapons to Saudi Arabia during the ongoing war in Yemen, it has emerged. The fighting has killed more than 10,000 people, destroyed vital infrastructure, and fomented a cholera epidemic.

War Child UK claims the true revenues from dealings with the Gulf kingdom are almost double previous estimates of £3.2 billion.

The charity told the Independent that private arms manufacturers, including BAE systems and Raytheon are, “profiteering from the deaths of innocent children” by selling missiles and equipment to the Saudi-led coalition.

Rocco Blume, a conflict and humanitarian advisor at War Child, told the newspaper Britain is not only selling arms to Saudi forces but maintaining them as well.

“We all want to see productive international trade, but this is damaging. The revenue has to be seen in the context of all other costs incurred in this trade, especially to our international reputation, particularly on human rights.”

Blume says there has been a “lack of transparency” on the extent of British firms’ involvement amid a global weakening of protections for children in conflicts. He also said Britain had become “less fussy” about international trading partners as Brexit approaches.

The charity also said there is a disparity between the economic benefit to the British public versus the profit for private firms inside the arms industry, which is estimated at almost £600 million.

War Child UK found that an estimated tax revenue of 45 pence per head was “dwarfed” by pay and bonuses, as well as the amount spent by the government on aid to Yemen.

“Weapons sales to Saudi Arabia generated just £13 million in corporation tax in 2016, yet during 2017, the UK will spend £139 million in humanitarian aid to Yemen,” a spokesperson said.

“This means the Treasury is spending over four times in aid what it is getting back in tax.”

The Saudi-led coalition has waged a devastating air campaign in Yemen since 2015 to support the government in its war against Houthi rebels. The British government was forced to defend the trade amid evidence of war crimes and civilian deaths after the UN called Yemen the world’s greatest humanitarian disaster.

Evidence gathered on the ground suggests some of the bombings were carried out using British-made weapons, including Raytheon’s laser-guided Paveway IV smart bomb, which is manufactured in Fife.

BAE Systems and Raytheon were among exhibitors at an arms fair in London last week, supported by the government and senior military commanders.

Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox was asked by reporters at the arms fair how many civilian deaths it would take before the UK revoked the license to sell arms. He defended the “ethical” trade, and said it did not violate international law.

Does it violate moral law? You will find the answer to that question, but it may be too late to do anything about it when you do.

Fife, Scotland

State in Malaysia Approves Public Canings for Breaking Sharia Law

Another in a series of posts documenting the 'progressiveness' of Islam. Sin is progressive, we see that in those addicted to pornography - it often progresses to child porn, and, in time, tends toward younger and younger children and more and more violent assaults. 

Islam progresses as its numbers rise. The greater the percentage of Muslims in a particular area or country, the more Islam moves toward Sharia and its legalism and barbarism. 

© Beawiharta / Reuters

A state in Malaysia governed by a conservative Islamist party has amended its laws to allow public canings for crimes against sharia law. Critics have called the move unconstitutional, with one politician saying it indicates a “bleak future” for the country.

The amendment was passed by the assembly of Kelantan to more closely align the state’s policies with Islamic criminal law, Kelantan deputy chief minister Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said, as quoted by Bernama state news agency.

“Caning can now be carried out inside or outside of prison, depending on the court’s decision,” Mohd Amar said.

“This is in line with the religion, which requires that sentencing must be done in public,” he said.

He declined to say exactly what offenses would be punishable by caning, although Reuters reported that the amendment applies to sharia crimes.

Ti Lian Ker, a member of the Malaysian Chinese Association, which is part of the ruling coalition, says public canings are unconstitutional under federal criminal law.

“This is a rewriting of our legal system and spells a bleak future for the nation,” he said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.

While Islamic law is observed in all of the other Malaysian states, its application is restricted to family issues such as divorce and inheritance, as well as sharia crimes involving Muslims, including the consumption of alcohol and adultery. Criminal cases are handled by federal law.

The decision of the Kelantan state assembly comes as no surprise, as the state has also been pushing to adopt a strict Islamic penal code called ‘hudud,’ which would allow adultery to be punished by stoning and thievery by amputation.

The state, which is governed by PAS, a conservative Islamist party, has also banned nightclubs and cinemas.

Last year, PAS introduced a bill that would expand the powers of sharia courts and incorporate hudud into the country’s existing legal system. The proposed legislation is expected to be debated in parliament later this month.

Ethnic Malay Muslims make up more than 60 percent of the country’s 32 million people. Similar calls to implement stricter sharia law have made waves in recent years, prompting concern from members of the country’s Chinese and Indian populations, as well as other ethnic minorities.

The Wednesday amendment comes just one month after Malaysia's Health Ministry made headlines for holding a contest soliciting videos which explained the consequences of homosexuality and "gender confusion," promising a cash award of up to US$1,000. 

Homosexuality is forbidden in Malaysia. Those violating the law face flogging and up to 20 years in jail.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian state of Kelantan isn't the only government in the region to advocate for caning, or against homosexuality.

In May, two gay men were publicly caned in Indonesia’s most conservative province, Aceh, which has the authority to enforce sharia law alongside the national criminal code. 

'Untouchable' Duterte Tops Time Poll as EU Critics Told ‘Stick to Child Porn’

Time's Person of the Year?

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte © Pyay Kyaw / Reuters

The Filipino people’s “love affair” with their leader “is like a jet plane that's just taken off” and EU critics of President Rodrigo Duterte should ‘stick to child porn’.

That’s according to Philippines Social Welfare Assistant Secretary Lorraine Badoy who defended Duterte’s standing in Time magazine’s Top 100 Men and Women for 2017 survey, where he leads Vladimir Putin, Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Trudeau and Bill Gates. The final 'Time 100' list will be published on April 20.

“Plus 9 out of 10 Filipinos right now approve of him.” She added “Wrap your dim minds around that, you clowns. Nine out of ten.”

Anyone with a “teaspoon of IQ on them” would wait for Duterte to make a “huge error” before trying to topple him, she claimed.

“Then and only then would it be the time to let your cash flow to pay the EU idiots with galls as huge as Goodyear blimps to call for the president's resignation,” she said, adding in Filipino that “those in the EU, just engage in online child pornography. Since that's what you are good at.”

The warning comes as the EU condemns Duterte's plan to revive the death penalty for drug convictions. The European Parliament has called for an international investigation into "unlawful killings and other violations" in the Philippines linked to Duterte's war on drugs, while Duterte has told the EU MPs to mind their own business.

Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said that the assistant secretary’s comment was "obviously sarcastic" and she was not advocating child pornography, reported Rappler.

"Asec Badoy loves children and cares about their welfare, so to even imply that she trivializes the issue is unfair and misleading. She is an outspoken critique of social injustice, and we have no doubt as to her stand against child pornography,” Taguiwalo said in a statement, according to InterAksyon.

Badoy, a former human rights advocate and NGO worker, was appointed to implement medical assistance to drug addicts in rehab after her online activism caught the president’s eye.

The Philippines banned a number of x-rated websites at the beginning of 2017 as part of a wider child-porn crackdown.

Wild West Show Comes to the Philippines

Philippine mayor-elect offers bounties for

wounded, dead criminals

By Amy R. Connolly


Tomas Osmena, mayor-elect of Cebu City, the Philippines, is offering cash rewards to police and local residents for killing or maiming criminals. Photo by Mike Gonzalez/Wikimedia

CEBU CITY, Philippines, May 20 (UPI) -- The mayor-elect of Cebu City, Philippines, announced he is offering cash rewards to police and local residents for killing or maiming criminals in an effort to curb crime.

Tomas Osmena has rewarded an off-duty police officer who shot and injured two robbery suspects. Officer Julius Sadaya Regis was awarded $107 for injuring the suspects. Had he killed the suspects, his cash awards would have gone up.

"To get the P50,000 ($1,071), the criminal should be dead," Osmeña said. "What is important is that the robbers will be scared. I am just giving them a warning."

Osmena, who was elected to office two weeks ago, took his idea from President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, who promised to kill criminals to bring peace to the country.

Osmena said criminal killings must be done legally and with a licensed gun. He said the rewards would not be taken from city coffers. When asked who would supply the funds, he said, "It's none of your business." He said he is not concerned about vigilantism.

"I will not compromise the safety of our people," he said. "I will defend them. I don't care who gets in the way."

President elect Duterte was Mayor of the city of Davao. Popular with the locals due to his successful zero tolerance policies against criminals, he earned the nickname "The Punisher". Vigilante groups tied to Duterte are thought to be responsible for the execution of drug traffickers, criminals, gang members and other lawless elements. 


Over a period of 20 years, he turned Davao City from the "murder capital of The Philippines" to what tourism organisations now describe as "the most peaceful city in southeast Asia," and what numbeo.com ranks as the world's fourth safest place. Nonetheless, Duterte has drawn criticism from various sources, particularly the press and the Philippine National Police, which contest the effectiveness of his policies.

I wonder how they can contest the effectiveness of his policies with results like that? They can complain about the methods he employs, but not the effectiveness of it. We can certainly hope and pray that he is able to clean up the child prostitution, child pornography, and sex tourism that are rampant in the Philippines. If he can do that, I have no problem with the example he has set for other mayors like Osmena, and God bless him.

New Hampshire Stands Up for Pedophile's Freedom of Child Pornography Trafficking

New Hampshire introduces US-first bill over Tor privacy software

© Joe Raedle / AFP

A new bill has been introduced by state legislators in New Hampshire to allow public libraries run privacy software, such as Tor. It is the first law of this kind in the US.

The legislation comes after last year's incident in Lebanon, New Hampshire, when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) caused a Tor relay to be removed from the Kilton Public Library.

Tor allows internet traffic to be bounced over three relays, using three layers of encryption, making the original IP address undetectable. The traffic passes through a final "exit relay" before reaching its final destination, and the IP address of that last relay is signaled as the source of the traffic (rather than its actual source IP address).

As they conceal the original IP address, Tor exit relays are sometimes used for illegal activity online, drawing the attention of law enforcement agencies.

Sometimes? How about most of the time. It is used for the buying and selling of child pornography - the world's fastest growing business. It is used to sell drugs, and weapons without security checks. It is used for all kinds of evil and it is difficult to think of any legitimate use other than espionage and perhaps some media communications in hostile (read Muslim) countries.

I cannot see anything good coming out of the use of Tor in a public library. The idea is frightening and abhorrent.

The Department of Homeland Security emailed the local police about Kilton Public Library’s use of the anonymous internet browsing service last September, leading to a meeting between local law enforcement, city officials, and the library.

The Tor relay at the library was suspended for a week before being restored after a vote by the library board of trustees.

Sean Fleming, the library’s IT director, told ArsTechnica before the vote that there was “no pressure from the feds at all.”

This first of its kind bill was put forward by Republican Representative Keith Ammon in a response to that incident, and sponsored by six other lawmakers.

Although running Tor or similar programs is perfectly legal for public libraries, the legislation is being seen as a strong show of support for the right to use such privacy software.

The Library Freedom Project helped draft the bill. The Daily Dot reports that project’s founder Alison Macrina said: “I think that no matter what happens, whether this passes or not, it's a pretty important step in recognizing these things are really important, and law enforcement and intelligence agencies are threatening our right to use them,” she said.

Although Tor is largely funded by the US government, the National Security Agency (NSA) has made repeated attempts to develop attacks against people using Tor, according to the Guardian.

The discussion on digital security versus national security reached a pivotal point this week when Apple CEO, Tim Cook revealed the company does not intend to comply with an FBI request to create a “backdoor” to the iPhone so investigators can access data on the phone of one of the San Bernardino shooters.