onthedarkside

Former US president Donald Trump has compared himself to the Mona Lisa in an interview with S4C. Mr Trump spoke to journalist Maxine Hughes for a documentary, called Trump: Byd Eithafol (Trump: Extreme World), she was making about his followers. Known as the "front row Joes" these are people that regularly turn up to the Republican's rallies. The 76-year-old said some of his fans would arrive four days early to come and see him. READ MORE https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-65793959

Kristina Bozanich knew that this year’s Pride month event in the central Florida town of St Cloud would have to be modified to comply with a new law approved by Governor Ron DeSantis last month. One in a series of bills signed by DeSantis this year that escalated his assault on LGBTQ+ rights, the Protection of Children Act prohibits minors from attending “sexually explicit performances” and authorizes the punishment of businesses that knowingly allow children to attend such events by issuing fines and suspending or revoking their alcohol licenses. The inaugural Pride month event that Bozanich organized in St Cloud last year featured an open-air parade and a drag show performance. READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/02/florida-lgbtq-pride-month-ron-desantis

LONDON — It was a dinner like no other. Two prime ministers sat face to face across a grand Westminster dining room, the first ever free-trade agreement between their nations all but complete. On the table that evening were bottles of fine Australian wine, a rack of Welsh lamb — and the future of the U.K. farming industry. That auspicious night in the spring of 2021 ended with Prime Minister Boris Johnson personally apologizing to his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison for Britain's decision to join the EU almost 50 years earlier, as he signed away greater access to Britain's beef markets than had ever been conceived by his senior officials. Observers saw it as a jaw-dropping concession. Johnson’s international trade secretary, Liz Truss, was "livid" when she learned of the agreement over breakfast the following morning as the leaders prepared to announce the deal before the world’s media, two people familiar with events told POLITICO. READ MORE https://www.politico.eu/article/boris-johnson-sold-out-uk-farmers-australia-trade-deal-uk/

One member has already taken a holiday. Any more trolling and off topic misinformation posts will be removed and possible warnings issued. A baiting post also removed. Topic is: COVID makes comeback in Thailand as booster fatigue leaves door open If you can't discuss that then I suggest you move on.

Off topic unsubstantiated claims post removed.

Off topic post removed. This is not about Iran or Ukraine

A misinformation post has been reported/removed A couple of off topic posts also removed

An off topic post making unsubstantiated claims has been removed: Any alleged factual claims must be supported by a valid link to an approved credible source.

nonsense trolling posts reported/removed. A personal attack has also been removed.

An attempted sarcastic troll post removed.

Donald Trump and Fox News play it safe in town hall as network faces lawsuit Donald Trump and Fox News played it safe on Thursday with a town-hall event in Iowa that swerved past the former US president’s election lies and liability for sexual abuse. The uncharacteristic omissions were a striking contrast to Trump’s recent town hall on rival network CNN and likely a source of relief for both his own lawyers and those of Fox News. In April, the beleaguered network agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787m to avert a trial in the company’s lawsuit over its promotion of Trump’s debunked claims about the 2020 election. READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/01/fox-news-trump-town-hall-iowa

Former President Donald Trump insisted he did nothing wrong amid reports that he knowingly held onto classified documents after his presidency, in a Fox News town hall appearance Thursday that also saw him lob slights at his primary opponents including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “I don’t know anything about it. All I know is this: Everything I did was right,” Trump responded to a question about a recording that reportedly includes Trump acknowledging he kept a classified document. He quickly pivoted to President Joe Biden, who’s also had classified documents found in his possession. READ MORE https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/01/trump-maintains-on-docs-00099841

A post making false claims has been removed.

A reported post with numerous unsubstantiated claims has been removed

Former Defense Department special counsel Ryan Goodman said the audio, and what Trump reportedly said in it, raised the former president’s “criminal exposure.” “War plans are among the most highly classified documents,” Goodman wrote on Twitter. “Puts pressure on DOJ to indict, and a jury to convict.” “Make no mistake. This is squarely an Espionage Act case. It is not simply an ‘obstruction’ case,” Goodman added. “There is now every reason to expect former President Trump will be charged under 18 USC 793(e) of the Espionage Act. The law fits his reported conduct like a hand in glove.” READ MORE https://news.yahoo.com/legal-experts-predict-dire-outcome-083027050.html

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the conspiracy theorist and vaccine skeptic challenging Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, told an interviewer he had “conversations with dead people” every day. Kennedy’s uncle, John F Kennedy, the 35th US president, was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. His father, Robert F Kennedy, the US attorney general and New York senator, was killed in Los Angeles five years later. In an interview with the Free Press, Kennedy was asked how he thought his father and uncle would tackle challenges facing America today. READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/01/robert-kennedy-jr-president-candidate-conspiracy

Hunter Biden’s lawyer on Wednesday deposed John Paul Mac Isaac, the Delaware computer repair shop owner who says Biden left behind a laptop in 2019 that later became public, according to two people familiar with the deposition. Why it matters: The deposition is the latest move by Hunter Biden and new members of his legal team to fight more aggressively against conservatives and those who spread his personal data across the Internet. His previous legal team largely did not respond publicly to media reports and Republican attacks concerning the laptop during the first two years Hunter's father, Joe Biden, was president. READ MORE https://www.axios.com/2023/06/01/scoop-hunter-biden-lawyer-deposes-laptop-shop-owner

Off topic comments on editing posts removed along with replies.

Hunter Biden could soon find himself in a surprising position: at the cutting edge of the fight to strengthen the Second Amendment. The president’s son is the target of a Justice Department investigation scrutinizing his purchase of a gun in 2018 — a time when he has said he was regularly using crack cocaine. Federal law bans drug users from owning guns. But the constitutionality of that law — like many other provisions restricting gun ownership — is newly in question after a precedent-rocking decision the Supreme Court handed down almost a year ago. READ MORE https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/01/hunter-biden-supreme-court-second-amendment-00099544

A post on the UK has been removed, please lets discuss the topic: School defends haircuts policy after social media uproar in Thailand

Off topic post and replies about the EU and UK have been removed. This is not about UK food prices and trade agreements

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday offered to let House Oversight Chair James Comer view an internal law enforcement document at FBI headquarters that Republicans believe will shed light on an allegation that then-Vice President Joe Biden was involved in a criminal scheme with a foreign national, the chairman said in a statement. The document has origins in a tranche of documents that Rudy Giuliani provided to the Justice Department in 2020, people briefed on the matter said. The allegations of wrongdoing by the then-vice president, many originating from sources in Ukraine, were dubious enough that Attorney General William Barr in early 2020 directed that they be reviewed by a US attorney in Pittsburgh, in part because Barr was concerned that Giuliani’s document tranche could taint the ongoing Hunter Biden investigation overseen by the Delaware US attorney. READ MORE https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/31/politics/christopher-wray-congress-contempt/index.html

In the recesses of the internet where some of Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters stoke conspiracies and plot his return to the White House, suspected con artists have been mining their disappointment over the last presidential election for gold. They’ve been peddling “Trump Bucks,” which are emblazoned with photos of the former president, and advertising them online as a kind of golden ticket that will help propel Trump’s 2024 bid and make the “real patriots” who support him rich when cashed in. John Amann told NBC News he bought $2,200 worth of Trump Bucks and other items over the past year only to discover they were worthless when he tried to cash them in at his local bank. READ MORE https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-bucks-promise-wealth-maga-loyalty-lose-thousands-rcna84965

Stubbornly high inflation and higher borrowing costs are poised to drive the economies of the UK, Germany and US into recession, the leading rating agency Moody’s has warned. In a downbeat forecast for growth across advanced G20 economies, it said a ramping up of interest rates by central banks on both sides of the Atlantic was expected to weigh on economic growth this year. “We expect very weak growth in key advanced economies in particular, including mild recessions in the US, UK and Germany, and stagnant economic activity in France and Italy,” Moody’s said in a report. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/may/31/uk-and-us-poised-to-fall-into-recession-as-interest-rates-dampen-growth

Mike Pence is set to announce his presidential campaign in Des Moines next week. The June 7 launch, confirmed to POLITICO by a source familiar with Pence’s plans, was first reported by NBC News. The former six-term congressman and one-term Indiana governor has hopscotched around early states in recent weeks, but lavished much of his attention on Iowa, including stops in Des Moines and Ottumwa last week. He’ll be back in the state this weekend for Gov. Joni Ernst’s Roast and Ride. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/31/mike-pence-to-announce-presidential-campaign-next-week-00099504