onthedarkside

Reported troll posts removed

Troll post removed. The article link contains more details.

Troll posts, off topic and an unattributed graphic removed along with replies. Please add a link when placing a graphic.

Former President Donald Trump has lost an emergency attempt to block former Vice President Mike Pence from testifying about their direct conversations, in the latest boost to a federal criminal investigation examining Trump’s and others’ actions after the 2020 election. The former president has repeatedly tried and failed to close off some answers from witnesses close to him in the special counsel’s investigation. This latest order from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals likely will usher in Pence’s grand jury testimony quickly – an unprecedented development in modern presidential history. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/26/politics/trump-loses-appeal-pence-testimony/index.html

Fox News’ dismissal of top-rated host Tucker Carlson sent shock waves through mainstream and conservative media this week. But nowhere was Carlson’s loss felt more than on the fringe and right-wing websites and forums where so many of his narratives originated. On web shows and message boards, creators of hate and conspiracy theory content bemoaned the loss of Carlson and their path to a mainstream audience. “He amplified [my] reporting more than anyone else,” Darren Beattie, a blogger and purveyor of conspiracy theories related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, said Monday on a web show hosted by Turning Point USA President Charlie Kirk. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/far-right-laments-tucker-carlsons-ouster-rcna81595

Special Counsel Jack Smith has expressed interest in audio tapes recorded by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg while she worked at the right-wing network, her lawyer said. Grossberg attorney Gerry Filippatos told CNN on Wednesday that he has given a spreadsheet to the special counsel’s team, detailing the nearly 90 audiotapes in Grossberg’s possession. Talks are underway for a subpoena, so Grossberg can turn over the material to Smith’s team of federal prosecutors, who are investigating efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election. READ MORE https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/26/politics/special-counsel-january-6-fox-news/index.html

Prince Harry's legal team have listed 208 articles about him in The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World which his lawyers claim were as a result of private information being unlawfully gathered. The stories' headlines and reporters' names were included in court documents as part of a legal action by the Duke of Sussex, who is suing the publications' owners - News Group Newspapers (NGN) - over alleged phone hacking, including listening to private voicemail messages. NGN is bringing a bid to have Harry's case thrown out, along with a similar claim by actor Hugh Grant, at a three-day hearing in London which started on Tuesday, arguing they have been brought too late. https://news.sky.com/story/prince-harrys-lawyers-list-208-tabloid-articles-where-private-information-was-unlawfully-gathered-12867052

The advice columnist E Jean Carroll told a New York jury on Wednesday that Donald Trump raped her, leaving her unable to have a romantic relationship, and then “shattered my reputation” by denying the attack occurred. Carroll testified in her civil lawsuit seeking damages for battery – after Trump allegedly sexually assaulted her in a New York department store changing room in 1996 – and for defamation, after he accused her of lying and perpetrating a hoax when she went public with her accusations in a book. “I’m here because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn’t happen. READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/26/trump-e-jean-carroll-civil-rape-trial-new-york

Some nations have already seen sweltering conditions as scientists warn of the forthcoming return of the El Nino phenomenon, which looks set to cause more extreme events amid the increasing impact of climate change. Extreme weather is gripping parts of the world amid growing fears this summer could see more record-breaking heat. There have already been wildfires across Spain as temperatures soar to unprecedented levels for the time of the year - while the increasing impact of climate change continues to challenge communities and nations. READ MORE https://news.sky.com/story/world-extreme-weather-events-of-monster-heatwaves-snowpacks-and-floods-and-warnings-of-whats-to-come-12866711

Andrew Badolato was sentenced to three years in prison and Brian Kolfage four years and three months, after being accused of channeling donor contributions into their own pockets. In 2019, Brian Kolfage, an Air Force veteran injured in Iraq, formed a nonprofit group to construct the border barrier that then-President Donald J. Trump had promised. It was called simply We Build the Wall. READ MORE https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/26/nyregion/wall-building-scam-trump-allies.html No Paywall Archive Link

Covid vaccine misinformation post removed along with a comment on moderation

The 13-year-old Utah boy hung out in the typical online spaces for someone his age: The chat app Discord. The gaming platform Roblox. And, of course, Twitter. But for more than two months last year, on those very platforms, the boy was being sexually groomed by an adult who was 13 years older and hundreds of miles away. It started in private messages then moved into public view on Twitter. It ended in a horror story. READ MORE https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/twitter-elon-musk-boy-kidnapped-groomed-discord-roblox-mcconney-rcna77985

Trolling topic ///CLOSED///

RATING THE REPUBLICANS — President Joe Biden today formally launched his campaign for a second term in a video announcement, setting up the prospect of a rematch in 2024 with his White House predecessor, Donald Trump. As he kicks off his reelection bid — his fourth run for the presidency in four decades — Biden is in a precarious position. His approval ratings dropped under 50 percent around the time of the chaotic Afghanistan pullout in August 2021, and never truly recovered. Only three post-war presidents — Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Trump — were in a worse polling spot at this point in their reelection campaigns. And two of those three lost. READ MORE https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2023/04/25/who-can-beat-biden-00093807

A US woman has been arrested in Australia after a 24-carat gold-plated gun was found in her luggage. The woman, who has not been identified, arrived in Sydney from Los Angeles and did not have a permit for the firearm, the Australian Border Force (ABF) said. She could face up to 10 years in jail. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-65389727

Earlier this month, after ProPublica revealed that Justice Clarence Thomas frequently takes lavish vacations funded by billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow, Thomas attempted to defend himself by claiming that this sort of “personal hospitality from close personal friends” is fine because Crow “did not have business before the court.” As it turns out, that’s not true. As Bloomberg reports, the Supreme Court — including Justice Thomas — did briefly consider a $25 million copyright dispute involving a company that Crow was a partial owner of in 2005. At that point, Crow had already given a number of gifts to Thomas, including a $19,000 Bible that once belonged to Frederick Douglass. READ MORE https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/4/25/23697394/supreme-court-clarence-thomas-neil-gorsuch-corruption-harlan-crow-constitution

A former commander in Russia's Wagner mercenary group who is seeking asylum in Norway has pleaded guilty to being involved in a fight outside an Oslo bar and carrying an air gun in public. Andrey Medvedev, who crossed into Norway from Russia in January, is believed to be the first member of the Wagner group to defect to the West. Mr Medvedev said he felt "very ashamed" for the crimes he admitted to. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65389729

A high-profile copyright trial over whether Ed Sheeran’s smash single “Thinking Out Loud” copied a classic Marvin Gaye song officially kicked off in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Tuesday. Ben Crump, a lawyer representing the family of the co-writer for Gaye’s 1973 hit “Let’s Get It On,” said in his opening statement that Sheeran played his ballad and Gaye’s song back-to-back in a medley during a concert, and called the moment a “smoking gun.” Sheeran, who was present in the courtroom, is accused of copying “Let’s Get It On” by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the song with Gaye. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/25/media/ed-sheeran-court-day-one/index.html

Attorneys for the Proud Boys placed blame for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Donald Trump during closing arguments in the seditious conspiracy trial on Tuesday. An attorney for Enrique Tarrio said that federal prosecutors were trying to make the Proud Boys head a "scapegoat for Donald J. Trump and for those in power." A lawyer for Joe Biggs said that the defendants went to D.C. because their "commander-in-chief" told them it would "be wild," referencing Trump's infamous tweet on Dec. 19, 2020, that called on supporters to go to D.C. on Jan. 6. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/proud-boys-blame-trump-defendants-prepare-find-fate-sedition-trial-rcna81234

An off topic post has been removed: 16. The Bangkok Post, Khaosod, Pattaya Mail and the Phuket News do not allow quotes from their news articles or other material to appear on ASEAN NOW. Neither do they allow links to their publications. Posts from members containing quotes from or links to the Bangkok Post, Khaosod, Pattaya Mail and the Phuket News publications will be deleted from the forum. These restrictions are put in place by the above publications, not by ASEAN NOW. In rare cases, forum administrators or the news team may use these sources under special permission.

Off topic troll post removed

Prince Harry’s war against the British tabloid media will resume on Tuesday as the royal attempts to drag the Sun’s former editor Rebekah Brooks back into the phone-hacking scandal. Just a week after Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News agreed to pay $787.5m (£635m) to settle a US defamation suit, the British arm of his media empire is attempting to block another lawsuit that could cause immense damage to the company. Harry is seeking at least £200,000 in damages and alleges that the Sun newspaper illegally hacked his voicemails and hired private investigators to blag private information about his relationships during the 2000s, including when Brooks was editor. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/22/prince-harry-media-war-continues-with-phone-hacking-claim-against-sun

A deplorable and nasty post removed along with a reply to it.

Musk trolled and punished people by forcing them to have blue checks, which were meant to be a sought-after status symbol that would drive revenue. Twitter finally introduced the paid Twitter Blue verification scheme cooked up by Elon Musk last week, and it’s not going well. Rather than being a much sought-after status symbol and revenue driver, the new blue check is being seen more like a scarlet letter, and Musk spent the weekend personally giving them to famous people who were forced to loudly clarify that they don’t want them. https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7beya/elon-musk-twitter-blue-verification

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed an abortion ban at six weeks of pregnancy — even in cases of rape or incest — into law on Monday. “This bill clarifies and refines existing state law ... and reaffirms North Dakota as a pro-life state,” Burgum, a Republican, said in a statement. The law, one of the strictest in the country, takes effect immediately. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/24/abortion-ban-north-dakota-00093603