Message from @Tinker Tom
Discord ID: 446014298741932034
Constitutional rights should only be restricted with proper due process of law. The reasons for this are two-fold. It limits restrictions on constitutional rights to only serious convictions and adjudications that provide greater procedural protections to the accused, which results in more reliable proceedings. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms should not be treated as a second-class right and should only be restricted consistent with the constitutional requirements of due process. Further, for truly dangerous individuals, these bills do nothing to incapacitate the subjects of the orders, so their ability to harm others wouldn't be addressed by this bill.
Senate Bill 2476 would subject “electronic stun guns” and “electronic dart guns” to the same licensing requirements as handguns in order for citizens to “possess, purchase, carry, transfer, or otherwise utilize for defensive purposes.” In addition, it would require all electronic stun guns sold to have a mechanism that tracks the number of times the device has been fired. Such restrictions will only serve to increase the red tape and cost for law-abiding citizens to acquire these self-defense devices without affecting criminals. With the stun gun ban being struck down recently, it is time to allow law-abiding citizens to own and carry these devices for self-defense without any last-ditch efforts to deny or discourage the exercise of this right.
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One of three bikers indicted on murder charges Wednesday stemming from a chaotic 2015 shooting outside a Texas restaurant is accused of killing a man who was also shot twice by police, according to ballistics evidence reviewed by The Associated Press.
The indictments against Glenn Walker and two fellow members of the Bandidos motorcycle club mark the first murder charges filed in connection to the melee that left nine bikers dead, 20 wounded and nearly 200 arrested outside a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco.
Investigators say the shooting was sparked by rivalries between the Bandidos and Cossacks motorcycle clubs ahead of a biker meeting. Waco police monitoring the gathering said officers opened fire after fights and gunfire broke out in the parking lot.
Walker is accused of fatally shooting Richard Kirschner, a Cossacks member. An autopsy report shows Kirschner was shot three times: once in the buttocks with a pistol and twice with a rifle in the right thigh and left knee.
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an to improve the nation's infrastructure on March 07, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
This week, Congressional Democrats released a detailed tax hike plan that they promised to implement if given majority control of the House and Senate after the 2018 midterm elections. So much for the crocodile tears about the deficit--Democrats want to raise taxes not to reduce the debt, but rather to spend that tax hike money on boondoggle projects
As you might expect, hold onto your wallets. Here are the details:
Increase the top marginal income tax rate from 37 percent to 39.6 percent. This nearly 3 percentage point increase in the top personal rate is not only a hike in the top bracket levy, but it's also a direct tax increase on small and mid-sized businesses. The 30 million companies which are organized as sole proprietorships, partnerships, Subchapter-S corporations, and LLCs pay their business taxes on their owners' 1040 personal tax returns. Hiking the top tax rate is a small business tax increase.
Increasing personal income taxes would be particularly unfortunate since workers are now seeing the results of lower rates in their paychecks. Thanks to the new IRS withholding tables, in February of this year over 90 percent of workers saw higher take home pay in the form of fatter direct deposits (for a humorous spectacle of the New York Times desperately trying to get people to down-talk their bigger paychecks, click here). They will continue to see those bigger paydays for as long as the tax rates in law remain in effect. This higher tax home pay is a down payment on a lower tax liability. Typical families of four should see their federal income tax decline from $2000 to $4000, depending on their income level and number of children.
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🇮🇱 **(((Netanyahu))) praises Trump for 'real leadership'**
<https://archive.fo/mGtAn>
Five months after President Donald Trump made his blockbuster announcement in December, it's really happening. The new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, which will inhabit an existing U.S. consular building, will officially open its doors Monday at 4 p.m. in a 90-minute ceremony led by U.S. Ambassador to Israel (((David Friedman))).
Trump will address Monday's ceremony by video, and he'll be represented by his daughter and adviser (((Ivanka Trump))) and son-in-law and adviser (((Jared Kushner))). The U.S. expects some 800 people to attend the event, including a congressional delegation and a presidential delegation led by Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan. Earlier in the evening, in front of a very friendly and very enthusiastic crowd, Prime Minister (((Benjamin Netanyahu))) heaped praise on President Trump.
"Thank you, President Trump, for your bold decision," (((Netanyahu))) said. "Thank you for making the alliance between Israel and the United States stronger than ever. "Now, you know how you recognize real leadership? It’s when others follow, and others are following in President Trump’s footsteps," he said, telling the crowd that Guatemala and Paraguay would both move their embassies later this week. He hinted at others, quipping: "That’s a state secret, and we don’t reveal our state secrets. Sometimes we reveal other’s state secrets. We’ll let you know as time comes."
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🇩🇪 **German official wants to target outside online anti-Semitism**
<https://archive.fo/bt930>
A senior German official reportedly wants authorities to prosecute anti-Semitic hate speech posted online, even if the material is hosted abroad.
Bavaria's justice minister told weekly Welt am Sonntag that he plans to propose a change in the law when he meets with counterparts from Germany's other 15 states next month. Winfried Bausback said in an interview published Sunday that German law currently contains "dangerous gaps" when it comes to punishing those who spread anti-Semitism and other forms of hate speech online.
German law, in response to the historic anti-Semitism of the country's Nazi regime, allows authorities to prosecute people for incitement to hatred. But some far-right groups host their websites in the United States, beyond the reach of German prosecutors. It is unclear how Bausback's proposal would work in practice.
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🇫🇷 **France destroys UNESCO Castle for Modern Art**
<https://tinyurl.com/ybse7qrz>
AN artist sparked outrage after he "desecrated" the ramparts of a French castle by covering its medieval walls and turrets with giant bright yellow circles. Felice Varini glued dizzying rings made of thin aluminium strips across the historic stones of Carcassonne Castle - France's second-most visited tourist site after the Eiffel Tower.
The massive hilltop citadel in the Languedoc-Roussillon region now resembles a giant target at a shooting range - and not everyone is pleased. Drawing more than four million visitors every year, the medieval fortified town was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. Tourism Carcassonne, who have been promoting the site's new look, said the stripes are "eccentric concentric circles", *part of an event showcasing heritage* and contemporary art in the area.
The organisation said Varini's spiralling artwork "spread like a wave, fragmenting and recomposing the geometry of the circles on the towers and curtain walls of the fortifications". But many locals and tourists have slammed the design, calling it "ugly" and a "real horror", RT news reports. Scorning the artist's efforts, one unimpressed person commented online: "Desecrating historic art is not art", while another said: "As a medievalist I am deeply shocked that the French authorities can allow such defacement."
Some 2,000 people have reportedly signed a petition demanding the circles be removed. Locals told France Info radio that they had not been consulted about the exhibition, and that they're now forced to "look at it all day". Some visitors, however, have praised the artwork, with one saying it is "kinda cool if you look at it from the right angle".
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🇭🇺 **George Soros’ Open Society foundation ends operations in Hungary **
<https://archive.fo/3PnVT>
George Soros’ Open Society Foundations is ending its operations in Hungary, accusing Budapest of repressing civil society. PM Viktor Orban has repeatedly slammed the tycoon for meddling in the nation’s internal affairs.
“Faced with an increasingly repressive political and legal environment in Hungary, the Open Society Foundations are moving their Budapest-based international operations and staff to the German capital, Berlin,” the group confirmed on Tuesday. Patrick Gaspard, the president of the Open Society Foundations, lashed out at Budapest, saying it has “denigrated and misrepresented our work,” while repressing civil society “for the sake of political gain.”
The group based its decision on the fact that Budapest "prepares to impose further restrictions on nongovernmental organizations through what it has branded its "Stop Soros” package of legislation.” Prime Minister Viktor Orban has repeatedly spoken out against the detrimental agendas of Soros’ foundation and other NGOs, accusing the billionaire of meddling in Hungary’s internal political affairs by funding opposition groups.
In February, Fidesz submitted a bill to parliament called the ‘Stop Soros Act’ – in reference to the Hungarian-American tycoon – which would curb immigration and would also affect foreign-funded NGOs. The bill says that all NGOs which “support illegal immigration” need to be registered, while any NGO which gets money from abroad must pay a 25-percent tax.
Also, foreign citizens and Hungarian nationals who support illegal immigration could be subject to a restraining order which would keep them away from the border. “If Soros is found to have engaged in such activity, meaning he organizes illegal immigration, then the rules will apply to him,” government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said in February.
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🇺🇸 **Cheesecake Factory Employees Attack Black Man For Wearing MAGA Hat, Witnesses Say**
<http://archive.is/5PJl1>
On Mother's Day, employees at a Cheesecake Factory in Miami, Florida, verbally attacked and made threatening gestures toward a black man who dined with his girlfriend's family simply because he was wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat, according to multiple witnesses interviewed by The Daily Wire.
ccording to multiple witnesses and Joseph's own account, a woman who worked at the restaurant walked up to him and started pointing at his hat, signaling for the other employees to come over.
"Her finger was literally on top of his head, we were all looking at her like 'what is happening?'" one witness told The Daily Wire. "She was pointing at him, calling her other coworkers, telling them to look at this guy wearing a Make America Great Again hat."
At that point, approximately a dozen or so employees approached the table and began making comments about the hat, with some saying they wanted to punch Joseph in the face. Witnesses also allege that some of the employees also referred to him as a "n**ger" in their conversations among each other.
🇰🇵 **North Korea cancels talks with South, threatens to call off US talks over military drills - reports **
<https://archive.fo/pqBzK>
North Korea has canceled a summit with South Korea and has threatened to call off a summit between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un over American military drills with South Korea, according to South Korean media reports. Pyongyang has canceled talks with Seoul due to ongoing Max Thunder military exercises between the South and the US, Yonhap news agency cited North Korean media. The drills have been described by the North as a rehearsal for invasion of the DPRK and a provocation amid warming inter-Korean ties.
The news comes as a blow after the historic talks between the leaders of two Koreas in April and the meeting between Kim and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Pompeo said Sunday that any deal paving the way for a nuclear-free Korean peninsula will have to include certain US safeguards, and reassurance that Kim won’t become a target of yet another regime change attempt.
Wednesday’s now suspended talks were to include a 29-strong delegation from North Korea led by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the 'Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the country' along with a five-member South Korean delegation, led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon.
The Max Thunder 18 drills are one of a number of joint military drills carried out by South Korea and the US in the Korean peninsula. North Korea has long viewed these drills as a show of aggression towards Pyongyang. The two-week Max Thunder 18 air drills kicked off on Friday, with over 100 planes taking part, including F-22 fighters and B-52 bombers, Yonhap reported last week. "Through this practical exercise, the air forces of South Korea and the US plan to improve aerial operations techniques," an anonymous South Korean official told Yonhap.
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🇮🇱 **‘No link between US embassy move & deaths of Palestinians’ – Nikki Haley at UNSC**
<https://archive.fo/igsiw>
A defiant US accused the UN Security Council of a “double standard” towards Israel, while other states united to condemn violence against Palestinians during the unrest that followed the American decision to relocate its embassy.
“The United States deplores the loss of life, but there is a lot of violence in region. And the double standard is all too common in this chamber, and is working overtime today,” said Washington’s envoy to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, before launching a lengthy diatribe criticizing the UN Security Council for failing to call similar meetings to discuss the “destabilizing influence” of Iran.
Haley then said that December’s decision to relocate the US mission from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem “does not undermine the prospect of peace in any way” and that those who said it was in itself connected to violence were “sorely mistaken.” The representative blamed the deaths of a reported 60 Palestinians on Monday exclusively on Hamas “incitement” to attack the Gaza-Israel border, and said the group was “pleased” by the scale of confrontations, in which over 2,700 people were wounded, according to the Palestinian authorities.
“No country in this chamber would act with more restrain than Israel has,” summed up the former South Carolina governor. Having listened to a series of speeches by other envoys, Haley then walked out of the hall as soon as the Palestinian envoy began his address.
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🇺🇸 **'No focus on Russian activities' - Donald Jr. on Trump Tower meeting in interview transcripts **
*RT* - <https://archive.fo/whpUn>
The US Senate Judiciary Committee has released more than 1,800 pages of transcripts from interviews conducted with Donald Trump Jr. and other participants of a 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. The documents provide new insight into the controversial 20-minute meeting during which Trump Jr, along with Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and then campaign chairman Paul Manafort, was expecting to receive “dirt” on Hillary Clinton from Veselnitskaya.
The committee released the thousands of pages of transcripts along with hundreds of additional pages of related material, including interviews with British music manager Rob Goldstone, Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin and translator Ike Kaveladze who were also present at the meeting.
The meeting has been the subject of controversy, particularly the question of whether then-candidate Trump knew about it. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has looked closely at the meeting as part of his investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which has not yet turned up any evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia.
Following the publication of the documents, Trump Jr. said they showed that he "answered every question asked” by the committee. "I appreciate the opportunity to have assisted the Judiciary Committee in its inquiry," he said in a statement. "The public can now see that for over five hours I answered every question asked and was candid and forthright with the Committee.”
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🇬🇧 **Brexodus: Eastern Europeans fleeing UK as it becomes 'less attractive place to live and work' **
*RT* - <https://archive.fo/EjYVz>
The amount of eastern European migrants in UK employment has fallen by the largest year-on-year amount since records began, a new study has shown. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2,292 million non-British EU nationals were working in the UK during the first three months of 2018, a total of 28,000 people or 1.2% fewer than the previous year. The dip was led mainly by eastern European nationals leaving the UK to return home to countries like Poland, with Brexit and the fall in the pound cited as reasons for the drop.
In addition to Poland, migration from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fell from 1,008,000 to 917,000 between January and March 2017 and the same period this year. It is the lowest levels of migration from those states since comparable records began in 1997.
Matylda Setlak, chief executive of the marketing agency All 4 Comms, told The Times: “The majority of people from eastern Europe came to Great Britain to work. However, currently available job offers and earnings are less attractive than before, so many people are deciding to leave Great Britain and return to Poland. Another important reason is the low pound value.”
However, immigration from countries that have only more recently gained access to the EU’s common travel area, namely Romania and Bulgaria, has continued to rise. Figures show that there were 355,000 Romanians and Bulgarians employed in the UK between January and March, up from an estimated 297,000 in the first three months of last year. Immigration from the original 14 member states, including Germany, France and Italy, rose slightly, from 1,001,000 to 1,008,000. Those coming from outside the EU also saw an increase of 20,000 for the first three months of the year bringing their total to 1.25 million.
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🇮🇱 **Senior Hamas Official: 50 Of Those Killed In Gaza Were Hamas Members**
*Ben Shapiro* - <https://archive.fo/nGVGF>
On Wednesday, senior Hamas official Salah Albardawil admitted in an interview with “Bladna al Alamyia” that 50 of the dead in the Gaza riots were members of Hamas. He stated, “50 martyrs of Hamas rose” during the so-called march. This isn’t shocking — Israel has been targeting terrorists with facial recognition during the riots.
Just yesterday, Hamas began releasing photographs of those slain. Surprise, surprise, many were members of Hamas’ internal security service.
Yet the media continue to parrot Hamas’ line that Israel is targeting innocents. This is media malfeasance at its finest. And it is getting more Palestinians killed, because Hamas seeks to put innocent people in harm’s way for the cameras. They’ve been rushing children to the border in an attempt to achieve photographs of supposed Israeli brutality on the front pages of newspapers. And the media have been happy to oblige.
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🇹🇷 **Turkey urges Islamic world to unite against Israel, calls summit**
*PressTV* - <https://archive.fo/oc5p5>
Turkey has urged Islamic countries to review their ties with Israel after dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire on the Gaza border. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told his ruling party in parliament that Ankara would call an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). "Islamic countries should without fail review their relations with Israel," Premier Yildirim said, adding, “The Islamic world should move as one, with one voice, against this massacre."
Ankara has reacted with fury to the killing Monday of 60 Palestinians in clashes and protests, on the same day as the United States formally moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem al-Quds from Tel Aviv in defiance of international outrage. Ankara said it was recalling its ambassadors to the United States and Israel for consultations in the wake of the events. On Tuesday, Israel expelled the Turkish consul in Jerusalem al-Quds.
The Foreign Ministry's spokesman said the consul had been summoned and was told to return to Turkey "for consultations for a period of time." Yildirim earlier accused the US of sharing responsibility with Israel for a "vile massacre" along the Gaza border, during which dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire on Monday. The United States took its place without complaint alongside the Israeli regime in “this massacre of civilians and became a party to this crime against humanity," Yildirim told reporters in Ankara.
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<:soy:415618830056947732> **Men in their 30s hit by impotence epidemic as half suffer from erectile dysfunction**
*The Mirror* - <https://archive.fo/PgFys>
Half of men in their 30s struggle to get an erection, studies have shown. Surprise polling reveals this age group is most likely to struggle keeping it up, with 49% blaming stress and 24% blaming boozing too much. Almost a third have broken up with their partner as a result.
Researchers polled 2,000 men for Coop Pharmacy and found largest affected age group of men with erectile dysfunction is those in their thirties, with half (50%) reporting difficulties getting or maintaining an erection. This compares to 42% in their 40s, 41% in their 50s, and 35% of under 30s.
“In an age when many people are happy to share intimate details of their lives on social media, it is a huge cause for concern that men today do not feel confident enough to discuss openly their struggles with impotence.” A third of men aged 18-60 surveyed say they have not told anyone about their erectile dysfunction. Only 28% have gone to their GP and just 9% have discussed it with another man in the family.
Worryingly 43% of those affected by impotence say they could not discuss the issue with friends and 23% would feel uncomfortable discussing it with a GP. An incredible 27% of men say they would rather break up with their partner than talk to their GP about being unable to get an erection. Of those affected in their 30s one in five said they had brought viagra from a source other than their GP.
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🇺🇸 **Senate votes to restore Obama-era net neutrality in pre-election win for Democrats**
*The Washington Times* - <https://archive.li/7GqHG>
Senate Democrats notched a win Wednesday with the approval of a resolution to restore the Obama-era net neutrality rule, forcing Republicans to take sides on a progressive niche issue expected to figure into the 2018 election. The 52-47 vote to reverse the Federal Communication Commission’s decision, which repealed in December the 2015 broadband rule, sends the measure to the House, where it has virtually no chance of passage.
What’s more, President Trump is all but guaranteed to veto it in the unlikely event of House approval. Even so, the vote came as a clear-cut victory for Democrats by forcing Republicans to go on the record, teeing up an obscure but highly charged issue popular with the progressive base six months before the critical midterm elections.
“[A]t stake is the future of the internet,” said Senate Minority Leader (((Charles E. Schumer))) after the vote. Senate Republicans were unable to shut down the vote after three of their own sided with Democrats to allow a floor vote on the resolution proposed by Sen. Edward Markey, Massachusetts Democrat, who said the “public is telling us loud and clear that they want net neutrality.”
“It’s a debate over whether or not we are going to continue to have a free and open internet,” Mr. Markey said. “This vote is a test of the United States Senate and the American people are watching very closely.” A frustrated Sen. John Thune, South Dakota Republican, accused Democrats of political gamesmanship by forcing a vote on the resolution instead of getting behind a comprehensive legislation solution.
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🇺🇸 **Mueller Reaches Indictment Decision On Trump, Report Says**
*The Daily Wire* - <https://archive.fo/PWuqb>
On Wednesday, a new report revealed that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has reportedly informed the legal team representing President Donald Trump that they cannot indict the president, according to a lawyer for the president. "All they get to do is write a report," Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani told CNN. "They can't indict. At least they acknowledged that to us after some battling, they acknowledged that to us."
Fox News noted that "The precedent that federal prosecutors cannot indict a sitting president is laid out in a 1999 Justice Department memo." Giuliani claims that Mueller has no choice but to follow the memo's instruction, signaling it might be game over for Mueller. "This case is essentially over," Giuliani said. "They're just in denial."
The news comes as Mueller's team has reportedly issued a subpoena for Jason Sullivan, a social media expert who was hired by Trump ally Roger Stone during the 2016 election.
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🇺🇸 **Missouri Declares Pornography A Public Health Crisis**
*The Daily Wire* - <https://archive.fo/FEl6S>
The state of Missouri has joined in the fight against pornography by passing the Senate Concurring Resolution No. 52 recognizing "pornography as leading to individual and societal harms and recognize the need for education, prevention, research, and policy change at the community and societal level." Passing with 31 votes in favor, the bill declares that pornography "perpetuates a sexually toxic environment" and "may contribute to the hypersexualization of teenagers, and even prepubescent children, in our society."
The bill also blames the internet for exposing children to sexual content before a mature age, effectively becoming their sex education, which "can lead to low self-esteem and body image disorders, an increase in problematic sexual activity at younger ages, and an increased desire among adolescents to engage in risky sexual behavior," much less the inability to hold a healthy relationship later in life.
The bill will now go to the Missouri House, where, if it passes, Missouri will become the 10th state to declare pornography a public health crisis. Senator Ed Emory, sponsor of the resolution, recently called pornography a "social evil" perpetuated by ambivalence.
"What is unveiled by a personal moral failure may be a reflection of a disturbing and invasive social evil ― that of the proliferation of pornography and modern culture’s ambivalence toward it," he said. Bev Ehlen, Missouri State Director of Concerned Women of America, and Stark made similar statements.
"Pornography has become the cancer that nobody wishes to speak about," said Stark. "Almost everyone has been personally impacted by porn or knows someone who has... SCR 52 breaks the silence in Missouri by declaring to the world that pornography is a public health crisis."
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<:USAFlag:428406564030775307> **Illinois police officer shoots suspect who opened fire at Dixon High School**
http://archive.is/P9avT
The shooter who opened fire at an Illinois High School Wednesday morning was arrested after a school resource officer injured him in a gunfire exchange, ultimately preventing what could have been a violent attack.
The Dixon police officer confronted the armed male at Dixon High School around 8 a.m., according to a post on the city's Facebook page. The suspect shot at him, preliminary investigations show, prompting the officer to return fire.
The gunman was struck in the confrontation and taken into custody, where he is currently receiving medical treatment. His injuries appear to be non-life threatening, according to the statement.
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🇬🇧 **British Police Order English Football Fans to Ditch “Antagonistic” English Flag at World Cup**
*The Daily Stormer* - <http://archive.is/UUEO8>
British Police have told English football fans going to the World Cup in Russia to not wave or display the St George flag, claiming it could be seen as “imperialistic” and “antagonistic”. Up to 10,000 England fans are expected to travel to Russia next month, along with a small force of UK police to help keep them safe.
The head of football policing Deputy Chief Constable Mark Roberts argued the St George’s Crosses were seen as the top trophies for rival fans and ultras, as well as appearing to link them to the history of the British Empire. “I think people need to be really careful with flags. It can come across as almost imperialistic… and can cause antagonism,” he told The Times.
“We really urge some caution about people putting flags out and waving them about in public, there is a bit of risk when people draw attention to themselves and people need to be aware of that. “We would not expect people to come across to this country, get drunk and drape flags on the Cenotaph so we need to extend the same courtesy when we go abroad and treat places with due reverence.” He added: “The Cross of St George, with whatever team on it, becomes the trophy of choice.”
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🇩🇪 **German ‘asylum fraud’ scandal probe widens to include 10 more migration offices **
*RT* - <https://archive.fo/pQ4ge>
German migration authorities have widened their probe into asylum application fraud and are now investigating 10 additional field offices on suspicion of granting refugees permissions to stay in the country without proper grounds. On Friday, the German Federal Office for Migration and Asylum (BAMF) announced that it would review some 18,000 refugee cases in the city of Bremen going back as far as 2000, after the regional office discovered the approval of up to 2,000 asylum stays between 2013 and 2016, which did not match the government’s sanctuary criteria.
On Sunday, the scandal deepened with 10 more asylum decision offices added to the investigation list. BAMF announced that it will examine those branches where the average quotas of asylum applications accepted or rejected in comparison with other offices deviated by 10 percentage points or more, a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior said, following a request from the DPA news agency. A total of an additional 8,500 cases from 2017 would be reviewed, she added.
The new development follows a scandal in April, when it was revealed that a former BAMF official at the Bremen office was under investigation on suspicion of taking bribes from at least 1,200 asylum seekers between 2013 and 2016. Five other officials at the workplace are now also being probed for possibly taking part in the scheme. They include an interpreter and three lawyers. Amid the corruption scandal, the Supreme Audit Institution was tasked by Interior Minister Horst Seehofe on Thursday to probe the BAMF and the Interior Ministry.
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🇸🇾 **US anti-tank missiles found at former Al-Nusra facility in Syria – Russian MoD**
*RT* - <https://archive.fo/S3AzE>
US-made TOW anti-tank missiles, along with other weapons, have been found in facilities once controlled by Al-Nusra militants in Syria’s Homs province, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The trove was located in a former observation point of the Al-Nusra Front terrorist group in the liberated Zaafaran settlement in Homs province, the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria said on Monday. “[We] can see here a large number of gas masks, weapons produced abroad, for example, TOW-2 anti-tank guided missiles. The facilities are very well-equipped,” Andrey Nekipelov, an official at the center, stated.
The BGM-71 TOW (Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided) is one of the most widely used anti-tank missiles, which has been produced in the US since the 1970s. The missile has an operational range of more than 3,000 meters and an armor penetration of up to 800 millimeters, depending on the model. The TOW-2 referred to by the Russian MoD is an advanced and upgraded version of the missile.
Hundreds of the missiles have fallen into the hands of various rebel factions during the Syrian conflict. The US-made TOW was reportedly used in an attack on an RT crew in Syria back in 2015. Speaking to RT back in 2016, German journalist Jurgen Todenhofer suggested that the US knows that the weapons it delivers to rebels end up with terrorists. “Everybody knows that they are using allies and they are allowing allies... It doesn’t matter if a TOW rocket or a TOW missile, which is an American missile, comes [to terrorists] from another group,” he said at the time.
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🇺🇸 **US & China put trade war ‘on hold,’ agree more talks **
🇨🇳 *RT* - <https://archive.fo/ktvV2>
The US-China trade war is “on hold” after the world’s two largest economies agreed to stop threatening new tariffs ahead of further negotiations on a wider trade deal. “We are putting the trade war on hold. Right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework,” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told ‘Fox News Sunday.’
China and the US had threatened tariffs that would cost each of them billions of dollars, sparking fears of a full-scale trade war. On Saturday, China agreed to take measures to boost imports from the US to reduce its trade deficit. In earlier talks, Washington demanded that China reduce its trade surplus by $200 billion. No further details were given following the latest round of negotiations.
According to a joint statement, both sides agreed on meaningful increases in US agriculture and energy exports with the aim of helping to close the $335 billion annual US trade deficit with China. Mnuchin and Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the agreement reached by Chinese and American negotiators on Saturday set up a framework for addressing trade imbalances in the future. Kudlow told ‘Face the Nation’ on CBS that it was too soon to confirm the $200 billion figure. “The details will be down the road. These things are not so precise,” he said.
The National Economic Council Director added that no trade deal had been reached but communications were open. “We want China to open up markets, lower tariffs, lower non-tariff barriers, give us a chance...Now are we going to get everything? I don't know, but I will say this – we're making terrific progress,” he said.
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🇩🇪 **German town votes to keep controversial bell devoted to Hitler**
*Fox News* <http://archive.is/4bF37>
A small town in southwestern Germany has voted to keep a controversial church bell dedicated to former Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler.
The bell, which is inscribed with a Nazi swastika and words that state “Everything for the Fatherland – Adolf Hitler,” serves as a memorial in a Protestant church in Herxheim am Berg.
According to the DPA news agency, the council in the small town voted 10-3 on Monday to preserve the bell, which were widespread during the Nazi era but mostly removed after the war.
State church authorities had offered to fund replacing the bell, which has been a fixture in the church since 1934.
However, a study concluded removing it would be akin to “fleeing from an appropriate culture of remembrance” and recommended either leaving it in place with an explanatory plaque or putting it in a museum.
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🇬🇧 **Britain to tackle 'Wild West' internet with new laws**
*Reuters* - <https://archive.fo/Q5y1d>
Britain will tackle "the Wild West elements" on the internet from cyberbullying to online child exploitation by introducing new laws for social media companies, digital minister Matt Hancock said on Sunday.
Launching a consultation on what measures should be used to ensure the safety of those using the internet, Hancock said the government would publish a white paper - a policy document that sets out proposals for future legislation - later this year and aim to bring in new laws "in the next couple of years". Better regulating social media companies has long been an aim of a government that has struggled to carry out its agenda with Britain's departure from the European Union taking up much of ministers' time.
"Digital technology is overwhelmingly a force for good across the world and we must always champion innovation and change for the better," Hancock said in a statement. "At the same time I have been clear that we have to address the Wild West elements of the Internet through legislation, in a way that supports innovation. We strongly support technology companies to start up and grow, and we want to work with them to keep our citizens safe."
There was little detail on what kind of regulation should be used to protect those using the internet, but Hancock told the BBC that as part of the data protection bill now in parliament, firms could be fined up to 4 percent of their global turnover. But when asked whether the government would stop companies from allowing children to spend hours on the internet, Hancock told ITV television: "We want to have a broad consultation."
"I don't want the trolls to win," Hancock said.
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🇺🇸 **Google Removes 'Don't Be Evil' Clause From Its Code of Conduct**
*Gizmodo* - <https://archive.fo/14XRj>
Google’s unofficial motto has long been the simple phrase “don’t be evil.” But that’s over, according to the code of conduct that Google distributes to its employees. The phrase was removed sometime in late April or early May, archives hosted by the Wayback Machine show.
“Don’t be evil” has been part of the company’s corporate code of conduct since 2000. When Google was reorganized under a new parent company, Alphabet, in 2015, Alphabet assumed a slightly adjusted version of the motto, “do the right thing.” However, Google retained its original “don’t be evil” language until the past several weeks. The phrase has been deeply incorporated into Google’s company culture—so much so that a version of the phrase has served as the wifi password on the shuttles that Google uses to ferry its employees to its Mountain View headquarters, sources told Gizmodo.
Despite this significant change, Google’s code of conduct says it has not been updated since April 5, 2018. The updated version of Google’s code of conduct still retains one reference to the company’s unofficial motto—the final line of the document is still: “And remember… don’t be evil, and if you see something that you think isn’t right – speak up!”
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🇨🇦 **Canada Cracks Down, Will Grant Refugee Status To Fewer Border Crossers**
*The Daily Wire* - <https://archive.fo/fccLf>
The decision to crack down on illegal border jumpers apparently originates right with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who famously chided American President Donald Trump for closing off the United States' borders to illegal immigrants, and, in a tweet, offered to welcome America's rejected asylum seekers with "open arms."
Once Canada realized precisely what the "open arms" policy would entail — a massive increase in border-jumpers and a huge drain on resources, particularly in the province of Quebec — Canada's government quickly reversed its position, although Trudeau has remained quiet. Reuters reports that, although illegal immigration is way, way up along Canada's border with the United States, Canada is granting far fewer refugee requests, down 53% from 2017.
Canada screens all asylum seekers who cross into the country at designated border checkpoints. But across the northeastern United States, there are "unofficial" border crossings: towns that straddle the border, roads that run from upstate New York into Quebec, and unprotected forest areas where immigrants can simply cross through to Canadian soil. Once they're through an "unofficial" border crossing, immigrants can request asylum, and the Canadian government promises they may stay in Canada while their case is investigated, sometimes up to two years.
But Canada is denying more of those requests, and to top it off, Canada has quietly sent its ministers into the United States to speak to Haitian and El Salvadoran communities, urging them to stay in the United States and avoid migrating north. A Canadian minister was even dispatched to Nigeria, Reuters says, to persuade the Nigerian government not to encourage travel abroad.
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🇺🇸 **Court Rules President Donald Trump CANNOT Block Twitter Followers**
*The Daily Wire* - <https://archive.fo/4vaLF>
A federal court judge ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump cannot block Twitter followers from his official "@Potus" account, without violating his followers' First Amendment rights. In a sweeping, 75-page opinion, Judge Naomi Buchwald noted that Trump's blocking habits amount to "viewpoint discrimination" and that, because Twitter is a public forum and Trump's Twitter account his held by the government, Trump must leave open the ability for his followers to reply, re-Tweet, and mention him.
According to Buchwald's decision, she finds that Twitter is a "public forum," and when government officials use Twitter, the social network effectively becomes a "government forum." Communicating with a public official in such an "interactive space," Buchwald found, is a First Amendment right, even if that public official doesn't exercise complete control over the forum (or even have a hand in making decisions with regard to the forum's content).
The decision is good news for Trump's Twitter trolls, like author Stephen King, who were part of the federal lawsuit that ultimately produced this decision. They, for now, have the right to angrily re-tweet and mention the president to their hearts' content (at least until the president's legal team applies for an injunction pending an appeal). Democrats shouldn't start the party just yet, either. The decision applies to government officials across the board, so now serial blockers like Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) will have to release their respective strangleholds.
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