-----------------

🇭🇺 **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.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **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.
-----------------

🇮🇱 **‘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.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **'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.”
-----------------

🇬🇧 **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.
-----------------

🇮🇱 **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.
-----------------

🇹🇷 **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.
-----------------

<: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.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **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.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **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.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **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."
-----------------

<: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.
--------------------

🇬🇧 **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.”
-----------------

🇩🇪 **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.
-----------------

🇸🇾 **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.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **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.
-----------------

🇩🇪 **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.
-----------------

🇬🇧 **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.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **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!”
-----------------

🇨🇦 **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.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **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.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **NFL Bans Kneeling During National Anthem**
*ESPN* - <https://archive.fo/KmN6K>

NFL owners have unanimously approved a new national anthem policy that requires players to stand if they are on the field during the performance but gives them the option to remain in the locker room if they prefer, it was announced Wednesday.

The policy subjects teams to a fine if a player or any other team personnel do not show respect for the anthem. That includes any attempt to sit or kneel, as dozens of players have done during the past two seasons to protest racial inequality and police brutality. Those teams also will have the option to fine any team personnel, including players, for the infraction.

"We want people to be respectful of the national anthem," commissioner Roger Goodell said. "We want people to stand -- that's all personnel -- and make sure they treat this moment in a respectful fashion. That's something we think we owe. [But] we were also very sensitive to give players choices."

All 32 owners approved the policy, which will be part of the NFL's game operations manual and thus not subject to collective bargaining. The NFL Players Association said in a statement that it will review the policy and "challenge any aspect" that is inconsistent with the CBA.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **US staffer suffers brain injury after 'sound' incident in China**
🇨🇳 *CNA* - <https://archive.fo/jPZz2>

A US government employee in China suffered brain trauma linked to "abnormal sounds" that resembled the still-unexplained injuries that befell US and Canadian diplomats in Cuba last year, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday (May 23). US and Chinese authorities are investigating after the unnamed employee, who was assigned to the southern city of Guangzhou, was diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI).

The US embassy in Beijing issued a health alert on Wednesday over the incident, while saying it does not know what caused the symptoms or of any similar situations in the country. Last year 24 US diplomats and their family members in Cuba fell victim to mysterious "attacks" that left them with injuries resembling brain trauma. Ten Canadian diplomats and their relatives also suffered a strange illness.

Both countries scaled back their presence on the Caribbean island due to the problem, which continues to baffle investigators and has strained US diplomatic relations with Havana. "The medical indications are very similar and entirely consistent with the medical indications that have taken place to Americans working in Cuba," Pompeo said in Washington. "We are working to figure out what took place both in Havana and now in China as well," he said.
-----------------

🇬🇧 **UK Arrests Islam Critic For Reporting On Grooming Gang Trial, Bans Media from Reporting On His Arrest**
*The Daily Caller* - <https://archive.li/EDlHI>

Anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson was arrested Friday outside of a British court hearing on a gang accused of forcing women into sex, prompting protests Saturday.

Robinson was livestreaming on Facebook outside of a Leeds court when police arrested him for allegedly breaching the peace, according to The Independent. The Independent attempted to downplay Robinson’s claim of reporting on the grooming gang trial by putting “reporting” in quotes. Video shows Robinson being whisked off by police as he demands to know the reason for his arrest. “This is ridiculous, I haven’t said a word…I’ve done nothing,” he said.

Robinson was sentenced to 13 months in jail for the crime, while the judge prohibited reporting of the verdict within the United Kingdom. No major British outlet reported on the sentence, and Breitbart redacted Robinson’s name from its report on the case. According to The Independent, a contempt of court offense can be used to silence reporting on criminal procedures. Robinson was arrested while on a suspended sentence for a similar offense. In 2017, he was arrested and convicted of filming accused rapists as they headed into court.

The judge in that case claimed it was not about “freedom of the press, nor about legitimate journalism, and not about political correctness,” but “about preserving the integrity of the jury to continue without people being intimidated or being affected by irresponsible and inaccurate ‘reporting.'”

Robinson’s supporters claim that he possibly could be murdered in jail due to his marked reputation among Muslim prisoners. The man who founded the English Defence League was assaulted by Muslim inmates during a previous stint in jail in 2014.
-----------------

🇧🇪 **Liege shooting: Two police officers and civilian dead in Belgium**
*BBC* - <http://archive.is/fcxkZ>

A man has shot dead two female police officers and a civilian in the eastern Belgian city of Liège.

The gunman also took a female cleaner hostage at a school before being killed by police. Two other police officers were also injured.

The man's motive is not yet clear but the incident is being treated as terrorism.

Police sources quoted in local media said the man was heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest" in Arabic).

Belgian broadcaster RTBF said the gunman was let out from prison on temporary release on Monday where he had been serving time on drug offenses. It said that he may have been radicalised while in jail.
-----------------

🇪🇺 **EU Member States agree on monitoring & filtering of internet uploads**
*EDRi* - <https://archive.li/qoaPu>

On 25 May, the European Council agreed to a negotiating position on the draft copyright directive. This will allow the presidency of the Council to start negotiations with the European Parliament on mass monitoring and filtering of internet uploads and a chaotic new “ancillary copyright” measure that will make it harder to link to and quote news sources.

Despite a large number of demands from a wide range of different stakeholders (including EDRi and Copyright for Creativity) to keep working on the text in order to create some semblance of balance, the Council decided to finalise its position with a flawed text. This position, as well as the mandate to the Council to negotiate, was voted against by Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Belgium and Hungary. [Update on 30 May]

Now it is the turn of the European Parliament to adopt its negotiating position. The Legal Affairs committee of the European Parliament (JURI) is voting on 20 and 21 June to agree on their standpoint. There is still time to act to prevent the most dangerous parts of the proposal. Due to the relative size of the groups and the splits in some of them, the balance is in favour of these measures, so there is a realistic danger that these policies can become law.
-----------------

🇮🇹 **Italy’s Euroskeptic coalition forms new cabinet after president’s ‘undemocratic’ veto**
*RT* - <https://archive.li/v4Afa>

Giuseppe Conte will head a new Lega-Five Star Movement government after all, as the two parties proposed a new finance minister instead of EU critic Paolo Savona, whose candidacy was rejected by the president. “All the conditions have been fulfilled for a political Five Star and Lega government,” said a joint statement from the two anti-establishment parties, which gathered more than half of the votes in the March election but had been unable to form a government for nearly three months.

With Conte to be sworn in on Friday, the new finance minister will be Giovanni Tria, a politically unaffiliated 69-year-old academic, who is regarded as anti-EU, but more flexible than Savona. The latter, who has called Italy’s entry into the euro zone a “historic mistake,” will become the European Affairs minister, with a remit to negotiate on Rome’s behalf in Brussels. In line with the earlier proposal, Lega leader Matteo Salvini will become the interior minister, concentrating on his party’s pledges to cut illegal migration, while Five Star Movement leader Luigi di Maio will have a chance to tackle bureaucracy, cut taxes, and increase employment as minister of labor and industry.

The two parties had threatened to call a new election after President Sergio Mattarella overruled their choice of Savona late last week, suggesting that his radical stance could alienate the markets and threaten the country’s economic welfare. The decision to ignore the coalition’s popular mandate from a man whose role is predominantly as a ceremonial constitutional safety mechanism was criticized as anti-democratic, particularly when Mattarella later put forward a “technocratic cabinet” as a replacement.

*The stand-off turned international when **EU budget chief Gunther Oettinger said that it was “not acceptable” for Italians to vote for anti-euro populists**, adding that “the markets will teach them how to vote.”* The remark produced outrage in Italy. Even top EU officials including Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk stepped in, urging Europe to “respect” Italy’s democratic choice.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **'Supersonic Tic Tac' UFO stalked US aircraft carrier for days, Pentagon report reveals**
*Fox News* - <http://archive.is/okf3m>

A supersonic UFO shaped like a Tic-Tac stalked a U.S. aircraft carrier for days before vanishing into thin air, according to a bombshell Pentagon report.

The object, which could reportedly hover in midair and make itself invisible, bamboozled U.S. Navy fighter pilots during a training exercise in the Pacific Ocean.

The leaked report, obtained by Las Vegas's KLAS tv station, tells how the USS Princeton, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, had multiple radar contacts with what it dubbed a Anomalous Aerial Vehicle (AAV).

The craft was described as "solid white, smooth, with no edges... uniformly colored with no nacelles, pylons or wings", and looked like "an elongated egg or Tic Tac," according to one of the pilots.
-----------------

🇬🇧 **Almost half of Brits are anti-Muslim, new data reveals**
*RT* - <https://archive.li/QyrFi>

Nearly half of Britons are anti-Muslim, research figures revealed but, according to the survey, the UK isn’t alone. Anti-Islam sentiments are rife across Europe, with negative feelings toward Muslims highest in Finland. According to data from the Pew Research Center, a whopping 62 percent of Finns hold negative views towards Muslims, while 42 percent of Europeans admitted to anti-Muslim sentiments.

In the UK, 45 percent of church-attending Christians say Islam is fundamentally incompatible with British values and culture, as do roughly the same share of non-practicing Christians (47 percent). For those adults with no religious affiliation, just 30 percent say Islam is fundamentally incompatible with their country’s values.

According to the study, the pattern continues on whether there should be restrictions on Muslim women’s dress. Church-goers are more likely than the non-religious to say Muslim women should not be allowed to wear any religious clothing.

The Pew Research Center is a non-partisan fact-tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. To obtain the data for their survey on religious attitudes, Pew conducted surveys among 24,599 adults across 15 countries in Western Europe from April to August, 2017.
-----------------

☠ **A glypho by any other name: Bayer to bury Monsanto brand after takeover**
*RT* - <https://archive.li/Y9nIa>

Germany’s pharmaceuticals and chemicals group Bayer will wrap up the $63 billion takeover of US agrochemical giant Monsanto on Thursday, ditching the seed maker’s 117 year-old name. The deal will create the world’s largest maker of seeds and pesticides, with combined sales worth about €20 billion (over $23 billion).

“Bayer will remain the company name. Monsanto will no longer be a company name. The acquired products will retain their brand names and become part of the Bayer portfolio,” the German drugmaker said on Monday, adding that it had received all required approvals from regulatory authorities.

The company launched a €6 billion ($7 billion) rights issue on Sunday, shortly after clearing the last major antitrust hurdle in the US. The merged agrichemical division will be named Bayer Crop Science, according to German business newspaper Handelsblatt which cited “industry sources.”

The Bayer-Monsanto merger has been strongly criticized by environmentalists and farming groups. In a letter to the European Commission before its March approval of the merger, Friends of the Earth Europe said that more than a million people had signed petitions calling on EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager to block “this merger from hell.”

Last month, some 200 people demonstrated against the merger outside the German firm's annual general meeting. Bayer agreed to acquire Monsanto two years ago. It vowed not to take advantage of its market position to forcefully introduce genetically modified crops in Europe against consumers’ will.
-----------------

🇸🇾 **Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to visit Kim Jong Un in North Korea, state media says**
🇰🇵 *Fox News* - <https://archive.li/MJ9Un>

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will visit Kim Jong Un in North Korea’s capital, the regime’s state media announced Sunday, in what would be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said Assad expressed willingness to visit Pyongyang to meet with Kim on May 30 while receiving the credentials for the North Korean ambassador. "I am going to visit the DPRK and meet HE Kim Jong Un," Assad was quoted saying, using the acronym “HE” for “His Excellency.” No other details, including when the possible summit may occur, was released.

Assad was also quoted saying he believed Kim would "achieve the final victory and realize the reunification of Korea without fail." KCNA also reported Assad saying the Syrian government would “fully support all policies and measures of the DPRK leadership.” If the meeting occurred, it would be the first summit meeting by a foreign leader in Pyongyang. Kim has never hosted a meeting with any other foreign heads of state in the country’s capital.

Assad and Kim seem to have a friendly relationship and are often quoted by KCNA exchanging pleasant remarks and compliments to one another, the Wall Street Journal reported. A United Nations report leaked in February revealed investigators found North Korea was shipping more than 40 items to Syria used for ballistic missile and weapons programs between 2012 and 2017.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **Construction Begins On San Diego Section Of The Border Wall**
*The Daily Wire* - <https://archive.li/nCZer>

Although approval is still pending on the billions of dollars President Donald Trump needs to build a full border wall along the United States' southern border with Mexico, work on a 15-mile section of "the wall" officially began on Friday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says they're beginning improvements on a section of the border wall near San Diego, partly in preparation for the existing wall to connect with whatever new wall the Trump Administration has planned, Fox News reports.

The current San Diego border wall was built in the 1990s with material left over from the 1960s and '70s, including Vietnam War-era “recycled scraps of metal and old landing mat steel plates,” the Customs and Border Patrol told Fox. Since the "cross border threat has increased," the wall will get an update over the next several months.

The new wall will be a "bollard-style wall" that is twice as high as the existing wall. CBP is also installing what they call an "anti-climbing plate." “The construction of this new substantial wall will improve overall border security, the safety and effectiveness of Border Patrol agents, the safety of the public, and will enhance the atmosphere for business and commerce in the area,” the Border Patrol said of the project.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **Supreme Court rules on narrow grounds for baker who refused to create same-sex couple's wedding cake**
*USA Today* - <http://archive.li/HKGxt>

A divided Supreme Court on Monday absolved a Colorado baker of discrimination for refusing to create a custom wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

The verdict criticized the state's treatment of Jack Phillips' religious objections to gay marriage, ruling that a civil rights commission was biased against him. As a result, the decision did not resolve whether other opponents of same-sex marriage, such as florists and photographers, can refuse commercial wedding services to gay couples.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the court's 7-2 decision against the same-sex couple, departing from his long history of opinions in favor of gay rights dating back a generation. Included among them was the court's 2015 decision legalizing gay marriage nationwide.

During oral argument in December, Kennedy and other conservative justices had expressed concern about the potential effect on other merchants with strong religious objections to same-sex marriage, from chefs to florists.
-----------------

🇺🇸 **Dem lawmaker: ‘Looks like Zuckerberg lied to Congress'**
*The Hill* - <https://archive.fo/BZ9nct>

A Democratic congressman hammered Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, following a report that the company is sharing large amounts of its users’ data with other companies.

“Sure looks like Zuckerberg lied to Congress about whether users have ‘complete control’ over who sees our data on Facebook," Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) tweeted on Sunday.

“This needs to be investigated and the people responsible need to be held accountable,” the top Democrat on the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee continued.

Cicilline’s tweet came in response to a Sunday New York Times story that detailed “far-reaching data partnerships” Facebook has established with roughly 60 device manufacturers, including Apple, Amazon, BlackBerry, Microsoft and Samsung over the last decade.

The partnerships allowed device makers to obtain Facebook user data like relationship status, religion and political leanings from users and also allowed for the sharing of the data of users’ Facebook friends.
----------------

🇬🇧 **SEXBOTS 'DANGER' Life-like sex robots could spread STIs, worsen impotence and ‘normalise paedophilia’**
*The Sun* - <http://archive.is/hxo77>

SEX ROBOTS may do more harm than good, leading medics claim.

They warn rising use of “sexbots” could spread sexually-transmitted infections, worsen impotence and normalise “sexual deviancy”.

Fans of the life-like love machines – that sell for up to £11,600 – say they can aid “harm reduction” by offering desperate fellas an outlet.

They claim doll use helps reduce sex crimes against women and children.

But Dr Chantal Cox-George, from St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Professor Susan Bewley, from King’s College London, say there is little evidence this is true.

And raised fears they may make illegal behaviour more socially acceptable.
-------------