Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Irish man labeled by FBI as world’s ‘largest facilitator of child porn’

REMANDED IN CUSTODY BY IRISH HIGH COURT TODAY

 

THE FBI’S REQUEST FOR EXTRADITION TO US OF SUSPECT ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN DISTRIBUTION OF ABUSE IMAGES ONLINE

Eric Eoin Marques (28) arrives at the Four Courts for a High Court extradition hearing earlier today.

A 28-year-old Irishman described by an FBI special agent as “the largest facilitator of child porn on the planet,” has been further remanded in custody by the High Court today.

The US authorities are seeking the extradition of Eric Eoin Marques who is alleged to be involved in the distribution of online child pornography.

Following a brief appearance before Mr Justice Paul McDermott at the High Court this morning, Mr Marques was remanded in custody until Thursday of next week.

The court previously heard Mr Marques, who has Irish and US citizenship, was arrested on a provisional warrant that records charges of distributing and promoting child pornography on the internet.

This morning, counsel for the Attorney General Ronan Kennedy asked the court to further remand Mr Marques in custody until the full request for his extradition was received from the United States.

If the full request was not received within a certain timeframe, then Mr Marques would be released, counsel said.

Last week, Mr Justice Paul Gilligan refused to grant Mr Marques, with an address at Mountjoy Square in Dublin’s north inner city, bail until the extradition request has been determined.

The US authorities are seeking his extradition on four charges. The court heard that if convicted he faces possible sentences of up to 30 years in prison. The charges relate to images on a large number of websites described as being extremely violent, graphic and depicting the rape and torture of pre-pubescent children.

The charges were brought against Mr Marques following a year long investigation involving both the FBI and the Garda.

Mr Marques was arrested in Dublin last Thursday on foot of a provisional extradition warrant issued by a US court on July 29th.

Investigating gardai and the FBI both objected to bail being granted on the grounds including Mr Marques represented a flight risk. The court heard evidence that large sums of money had passed through his bank accounts, including large payments sent to accounts in Romania.

The court also heard that a search of Mr Marques’s computer revealed he had made inquires about how to get a visa and entry into Russia. He had no previous convictions nor had he ever come to the attention of the authorities before.

At a hearing last week, Mr Marques told the court he was born in the US but has lived in Ireland since he was five years of age. He said his father is Brazilian and his mother is Irish.

He said he had visited Romania a few times, and had friends and an ex girlfriend there whom he was helping out financially. He said he was last in Romania a few weeks ago when he withdrew €6,000 from his credit card to help a friend start a business.

He also told the court several weeks ago he searched online about Russian visas out of curiosity due to the issues surrounding former US NSA employee Edward Snowden.

Ireland’s exports to fall by €2.8bn as pharmaceutical sales decline

 

The expiry of drug patents in Ireland is partly to blame for slump in pharmaceutical sales

John Whelan, (Above) chief executive of the Irish Exporters’ Association: first six months of year were more difficult than expected for exporters.

The value of exports from the Republic is set to fall by €2.8 billion this year as earnings from pharmaceutical sales slip again, according to the latest estimates.

Industry group the Irish Exporters’ Association reported yesterday that the total value of exports in the first six months of this year was down 1.9 per cent at €88.6 billion from €90.3 billion during the same period in 2012.

Its chief executive, John Whelan, said that, barring an improvement in the Republic’s main markets in the EU, merchandise exports would fall by €5.5 billion this year overall while the value of services sold abroad would increase by €2.7 billion.

“So, in total, exports will fall by €2.8 billion or 1.6 per cent across the year,” he said.

“In these circumstances it will be hard for any overall increase in employment.”

Merchandise exports slumped by €3 billion or 6.4 per cent to €43.3 billion in the first half of the year from €46.3 billion. Services partly offset this, growing by €1.3 billion to €44 billion.
Expired patents:  The association highlighted a fall in the value of pharmaceuticals – the result of patents on a number of drugs manufactured here expiring – as the main reason for the fall in the value of goods exported from the Republic.

However, it noted that amid the general fall in manufacturing exports, the agri-food and drinks industry continued growing, adding 8 per cent to overseas sales during the first half.

Mr Whelan acknowledged the first six months of the year had been more difficult than expected for exporters, as the fall in merchandise sales and the contraction in services growth were both worse than anticipated.

“Stronger domestic and export growth can be achieved if additional policy action is taken to lift the investment rate in the Irish economy, and an extensive expansion of the government trade support agencies’ presence on the ground in the emerging markets,” he said.

Mr Whelan added that if the Government implements these policies in the budget, the Republic can expect a return to export growth in 2014.

The IEA is forecasting the value of overall exports could rise by €8.8 billion next year to €188.5 billion.

Galway Alcohol Forum voices support for the minimum pricing of alcohol by Irish Government

 

THE GALWAY HEALTHY CITIES ALCOHOL FORUM, GALWAY CITY COUNCIL AND THE GALWAY CITY JOINT POLICING COMMITTEE HAVE VOICED THEIR SUPPORT FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF MINIMUM PRICING FOR ALCOHOL.

The Galway Healthy Cities Alcohol Forum, Galway City Council and the Galway City Joint Policing Committee have voiced their support for the introduction of minimum pricing for alcohol.

Galway is the first city in Ireland to develop a strategy to prevent and reduce alcohol-related harm and the Galway Healthy Cities Alcohol Forum has prepared a submission requesting the Government to take urgent action to introduce minimum pricing.

Evelyn Fanning, Health Promotion, HSE West, who is chair of the Galway Healthy Cities Alcohol Forum, explained that minimum pricing sets a price below which no alcohol beverage can be sold and is based on the amount of alcohol in a product measured in units or grams.

She added that it predominantly affects the price of cheaper alcohol sold off-trade, i.e. in off licenses, shops, supermarkets and petrol stations that are licensed to sell alcohol, which is now the biggest supplier of alcohol in the country.

According to the Galway Healthy Cities Alcohol Forum, the World Health Organization (WHO) has made it clear there is “undisputable” evidence that the price of alcohol matters and that if the price of alcohol goes up, alcohol-related harm goes down as alcohol is less available.

“Evidence also suggests that harmful drinkers tend to buy alcohol that is cheaper than that bought by low-risk drinkers. Therefore, a minimum pricing policy is beneficial in that it targets the drinkers causing the most harm both to themselves and to society, while having little effect on the spending of moderate drinkers,” according to the Galway Healthy Cities Alcohol Forum.

Galway City Cllr Niall McNelis also pointed out that the tax payer is actually paying double as, in addition to the estimated €3.7 billion a year due to health, crime and public order and other costs such as workplace absenteeism and litter clean up, when alcohol is sold below cost price, the retailer is entitled to a VAT refund on the difference between the cost price and the below-cost sale price.

“In effect, this means that the Government is subsidising large retailers who can afford to sell alcohol at below-cost price,” he said.

The Galway Healthy Cities Alcohol Forum has said there is strong support from all sectors and communities in Galway City to address the issue of alcohol-related harm, and the introduction of minimum pricing is one action that will contribute to reducing the huge human and economic cost of alcohol-related harm.

College website apologises for article about one-night stands for men

 

Collegetimes.ie says controversial piece was intended to be satirical

A website for Irish third-level students has apologised to soft-drinks maker 7up after an advertisement for the firm appeared beside an article advising men how to find a woman for a one night stand.

Collegetimes.ie has also been heavily criticised on its Facebook page and on Twitter for the article, which has also received hundreds of Facebook likes.

When the article was brought to the attention of 7up, the company tweeted: “Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We by no means endorse this content and are having our ads pulled ASAP”. It has since been removed from Collegetimes.ie.

In a statement, PepsiCo, which owns 7Up, said: “7up does not condone the type of content that appeared on collegetimes.ie today. As soon as we were made aware of where our advert was placed we had it removed immediately.”

The article was written by journalist Joanna Stroinska and tells men how to pick-up a girl in a nightclub.

The article suggests that finding a one night stand is similar to betting on the dogs and the “key focus should be the candidate”.

It said prime candidates were “girls who have just been dumped, girls with low self-esteem and potential daddy issues, and slut bags”.

  Featuring a photograph of Austrian abductor Joseph Fritzl, the article said men on the pull should not give the impression to a girl of being a Joseph Fritzl-type character.

It recommends targeting young women who are attractive but still have self-esteem issues about their looks.

It goes on to state: “When she’s in your house, don’t waste time with the nonsense of house tours or making her feel comfortable. This is an ‘in and out’ job, pun intended. Again, to ensure you don’t get a clinger make sure the sex implies as little relationship qualities as possible. Pull her hair, rip her shirt but by all means- don’t look in her eyes!”

It concludes by recommending that the man avoids giving the woman lift home and also avoids learning her surname or her mobile phone number. “The most successful one night stands leave no loose strings!”

In a statement collegetimes.ie said it “would like to publicly apologise to our advertising partner 7Up for a technical failure that allowed advertisements for the brand to appear alongside an article in our ‘It’s all about sex section’.

“We have removed the brand from the particular section and would like to make it clear that 7Up would never be associated with content of this type.

“The article ‘One Night Stand – For Men’ was written by a woman to highlight, in a satirical fashion, behaviours that occur commonly within our society. The article was based on the observations of a student. College Times never intended to offend any of our readers.”

A version of the article first appeared on the Canadian websitehttp://www.premierlife.ca.

Cork-based feminist group Feminista criticised Ms Stroinska’s article, saying it prompted “sexism and misogyny”.

Technology multinational firm Overstock to create 45 new jobs in Sligo

 

The online discount retailer Overstock.com is setting up a software development team in Sligo, creating some 45 jobs.

The US company is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in 1999 and now has just under a million products listed on its site including furniture, bedding, electronics, clothing and even cars.

It employs more than 1,300 people around the world. In 2010 it was ranked as the number one US retailer for employee satisfaction in a survey commissioned by Forbes.

Overstock is listed on the NASDAQ and had sales of $1.09bn last year.

“Today’s announcement that leading on-line retailer Overstock.com is to establish a key technology group here, with the creation of more than 45 jobs in Sligo is great news for the north-west, and is a significant endorsement of both Sligo and Ireland in delivering the needs of multinational companies” said Jobs Minister Richard Bruton.

‘Overstock is an ambitious, dynamic and technology led company that is excited with the potential that Sligo and Ireland offers. The Irish development team will be involved centrally in many existing activities and will lead on several new and initiatives associated with our International expansion” said Steve Tryon, senior vice president at Overstock.

Jurassic squirrel’s secret is out after 165 million years

  

Discovery of furry animal with sharp teeth and poisonous spur provides more clues to the evolution of mammals

The small mammal with reptilian features is older than the T rex and may be one of our most ancient relatives.

The discovery of a small furry beast from the Jurassic era has given scientists fresh insights into the evolution of the first mammals on Earth. The fossilised remains of the squirrel-sized animal that plodded rather than scampered, came from rock dated to 165m years ago, when feathered dinosaurs shared the land.

Named Megaconus, or “large cusp”, after its distinctive teeth, the animal was unearthed in Inner Mongolia where it had been preserved in volcanic ash that settled in a freshwater lake. It is thought to be an early relative of mammals, and has some mammalian features, while others are more commonly seen in reptiles.

Preserved among the remnants is evidence of fur and a keratinous spur that jutted from the hind ankle and was probably used to deliver poison to predators. The bones of its middle ear were more primitive, and attached to the jaw as in reptiles. The discovery shows that animals evolved to have fur before the first true mammals emerged. The fur was primarily for insulation, but may also have served a sensory purpose.

The animal belongs to a group called the haramiyids, whose existence was previously based on the scant fossil evidence of isolated teeth. Megaconus had long, rodent-like teeth able to chew plants and munch on insects and worms.

“The teeth have been studied since the 19th century, but nobody had an idea what these animals looked like,” said Thomas Martin, a scientist on the team at the University of Bonn.

Details of the discovery are reported in the journal Nature.

Martin said the warm-blooded animal foraged at night and lived on the shores of the shallow freshwater lake where its remains were eventually recovered 165m years later.

In the same issue of the journal, another team of scientists, headed byJin Meng at the American Museum of Natural History, describe another haramiyid, but come to very different conclusions. The creature, named Arboroharamiya, was of a similar age, to Megaconus, but had long toes and fingers, suggesting it lived in the trees. Meng’s team argue that their creature was a fully-fledged mammal, and date the origin of all mammals to more than 200m years ago.

Richard Cifelli at the Oklahoma Museum of Natural History told the Guardian that more fossils were needed to clarify which team was right, and whether the animals were true mammals or more primitive forms.

But he added that the two fossils revealed the great diversity of lifestyles among the animals. Other early mammals evolved to burrow, swim and even glide from tree to tree.