Twitter shuts down string of accounts containing child abuse images after hackers expose indecent content, Piero Corsi, Italian Priest, Says 'Provocative' Women To Blame For Spate Of Domestic Violence (VIDEO), Belgium To Prosecute Scientology As Criminal Organization; Church Faces Charges Of Extortion, Fraud

Twitter shuts down string of accounts containing child abuse images after hackers expose indecent content


NSPCC says hacking groups exposed the files last night
The charity says it has received a 'flurry' of reports
Unclear whether images came from British users or those abroad
Cases will now be investigated in the US where the site is based
Another child protection group received 30 reports of such images
By James Black
24 December 2012

A string of Twitter accounts have been closed after they were revealed to contain disturbing images of child abuse.
The graphic pictures were apparently made public late last night after hacking groups claimed to have broken into the private accounts to expose their indecent content, the NSPCC said.
The charity said it received a 'flurry' of reports overnight relating to at least half a dozen Twitter accounts which were later disabled.

They will now be investigated in the US, where the micro-blogging site is based.
An NSPCC spokesman said: 'Apparently these were pretty disturbing images of child abuse.
"We understand the authorities in the US are now looking at the accounts.'
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) said it had also received around 30 reports, relating to at least four accounts.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2252951/Twitter-shuts-string-accounts-containing-child-abuse-images-hackers-expose-indecent-content.html

Piero Corsi, Italian Priest, Says 'Provocative' Women To Blame For Spate Of Domestic Violence (VIDEO)
The Huffington Post  |  By Meredith Bennett-Smith 12/28/2012
An Italian priest found himself embroiled in a national controversy this week after a Christmas bulletin he posted in his church went viral.

Perio Corsi's flier, entitled “Women and femicide – healthy self-criticism. How often do they provoke?” claimed that women in Italy may be to blame for a spate of domestic violence attacks, Raw Story notes. Members of the priest's congregation then posted the text on the Internet:
How often do we see girls and mature women going around scantily dressed and in provocative clothes?
They provoke the worst instincts, which end in violence or sexual abuse. They should search their consciences and ask: did we bring this on ourselves?

The flier went on to decry "increasingly provocative," "arrogant" and "self-sufficient" women who abandon their children, don't clean their houses and serve cold meals.
Corsi is the leader of a church in the small parish of San Terenzo in northwest Italy, according to The Journal.
The Daily Beast's Barbie Latza Nadeau notes that this year 120 women have been killed in domestic disputes in the European nation, "a third more than last year." In fact, the problem has even caught the attention of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which urged the country to take action last June.
As calls for the priest to resign intensified, Euronews reported that Corsi issued an apology, only to quickly take it back. He also used an anti-gay slur when debating a reporter from Rai Radio, L'Huffington Post reports.
Meanwhile, local officials have been quick to distance themselves from the church leader's comments....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/piero-corsi-italian-priest-provocative-women-to-blame-domestic-violence_n_2376702.html

Belgium To Prosecute Scientology As Criminal Organization; Church Faces Charges Of Extortion, Fraud
The Huffington Post  |  By Andres Jauregui 12/28/2012

Federal public prosecutors in Belgium will institute legal proceedings against the church of Scientology in that country and seek to recognize it as a criminal organization.
The church of Scientology -- which is not recognized as a faith in Belgium -- and several of its top-ranking members face charges including extortion, fraud, illegal practice of medicine and violation of privacy laws, according to Flanders News.
The complaint stems from an investigation of fraudulent labor contracts issued by the church of Scientology in an effort to recruit new volunteers and members. A judge ordered raids on Scientology offices in 2008 that allegedly uncovered a "wealth of evidence" that the organization had spied on and extorted money from its members, according to De Standaard.

An estimated 500 people belong to the church of Scientology in Belgium. The organization's European headquarters are located in Brussels.
Belgium is not the only European country in which Scientology has faced criticism and legal action.
Scientology came under fire in France in 2009 when it was convicted of fraud for "[pressuring] members into paying large sums for questionable remedies," according to the Associated Press. That conviction was upheld in a French appeals court in February 2012.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/belgium-prosecutes-scientology-extortion-fraud_n_2375823.html

UK: 2 Arrested After Twitter Child Abuse Probe

UK: 2 Arrested After Twitter Child Abuse Probe
LONDON August 12, 2012 (AP)

British police say they have arrested a man and a woman in relation to a probe into child abuse on Twitter.

Metropolitan Police say the pair, both in their 40s, have been released to return in November pending further questioning. They were arrested at a London apartment Friday.

Police took action after receiving information from the Sunday Mirror newspaper, which carried out a probe into sex offenders operating on the social media network.

The tabloid reported that it found 200 Twitter users who openly expressed interest in sexual images of children, and that it passed on its findings to the Metropolitan Police's unit tackling pedophiles.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uk-arrested-twitter-child-abuse-probe-16987347#.UCnD4KCSk0k

'Pedophile's Guide' Sparks Angry Criticism of Amazon, defends 'Pedophile's Guide'

'Pedophile's Guide' Sparks Angry Criticism of Amazon
(Nov. 10) - The trend on Twitter today was anger.
A group of Twitterati is upset at Amazon.com for selling a Kindle edition of a book called "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure." With all of Twitter's 190-million-plus users as an audience, they let their feelings be known -- in 140 characters or less. "Dear @Amazon," said one microblogger, using a function that directs the message toward Amazon's own Twitter account, "Free speech doesn't include a written manual on how to exploit, molest and rape our children."

Amazon did not respond to a message from AOL News seeking comment. But in a statement to AOL's Tech Crunch, the retail giant said: " Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable. Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions."

Twitter declined to comment in a message to AOL News.
The book's poorly spelled page on the Amazon website says it aims to make "pedophile situations safer for those juveniles that find themselves involved in them, by establishing certian (sic) rules for these adults to follow." The Web page lists the publication date as Oct. 28, 2010, and the author as Phillip R. Greaves.
The description also says the author hopes the book will lead to "liter (sic) sentences" for pedophiles. http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/pedophiles-guide-sparks-angry-criticism-of-amazon/19711138

Amazon defends 'Pedophile's Guide'
Another book protested in 2002 for advocating adult-child sex is still available on the site By Helen A.S. Popkin
11/10/2010 NEW YORK — Amazon is selling a self-published book defending pedophiles, sparking discussions about the retailer's obligation to vet items before they are sold in its online stores, and threats of boycott from Amazon customers if the book is not removed. The book, " The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct" by Philip R. Greaves II, offers advice to pedophiles afraid of becoming the center of retaliation. It is an electronic book available for Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle e-reader.

The author's description (misspellings included) reads:
"This is my attempt to make pedophile situations safer for those juveniles that find themselves involved in them, by establishing certian rules for these adults to follow. I hope to achieve this by appealing to the better nature of pedosexuals, with hope that their doing so will result in less hatred and perhaps liter sentences should they ever be caught."

Amazon issued a statement that will no doubt fuel the outraged comments multiplying on the "Pedophile's Guide" Amazon page. "Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable," it reads. "Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions."....A customer review on the "Pedophile's Guide" Amazon page written by "Outraged Mother" reads, "The line of immorality is at best a zone with ill defined boundaries. Whatever. This crosses into the unsavory and shameful side of the zone. Take it down."

"There is a point when, even though a company has a no-censorship policy, that selling certain books is simply wrong," reads "Disgusting Abomination," another customer review. "Not censoring is one thing, and I commend that, but choosing to sell this book on a site that accessed by millions of people (including children) daily is reprehensible. This is a disgusting choice you have made, Amazon. Whatever money you are making off this book can't be worth the ire you are receiving for selling it."....In 2002, Amazon.com cited the First Amendment as justification for offering another book that advocates adult-child sex, "Understanding Loved Boys and Boylovers," by David L. Riegel. Further, the paperback book is still available on the site.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40112145/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/