What's in the news?

[Anteros]

Federal agents conduct immigration enforcement raids in at least six states: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/federal-agents-conduct-sweeping-immigration-enforcement-raids-in-at-least-6-states/2017/02/10/4b9f443a-efc8-11e6-b4ff-ac2cf509efe5_story.html?utm_term=.f52f0f773c08

Cherokee Nation files, is granted emergency restraining order, halting disposal of radioactive waste near the Arkansas and Illinois rivers : http://anadisgoi.com/archive/1519-cherokee-nation-files-is-granted-emergency-restraining-order-halting-disposal-of-radioactive-waste-near-the-arkansas-and-illinois-rivers

Steve Bannon sunk $60M of Goldman Sachs' money into a failed World of Warcraft goldfarming scheme: http://boingboing.net/2017/02/09/steve-bannon-sunk-60m-of-gold.html

[Lustful Bride]

New Nasa Glacier Data has been analyzed.....its not good :(   

http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/nasa-took-on-an-unprecedented-study-of-greenland%e2%80%99s-melting-now-the-data-are-coming-in/ar-AAmOSWm?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[Anteros]

Trump administration signals change in policy for transgender students: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/trump-administration-signals-change-in-policy-for-transgender-students/2017/02/11/c2fd138e-f051-11e6-b4ff-ac2cf509efe5_story.html?utm_term=.a220b1baf3be

[AmberStarfire]

Just reading through this article, how can they criminalise someone living with a second spouse even if they aren't legally married? That's ridiculous. You'd think people could live with whoever they want and call it what they want. As long as they don't break the law marrying a second person, I fail to see how that's anybody's business.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/sister-wives-protest-in-salt-lake-city-utah-to-be-polygamous/news-story/b9cf9157aab4398f36814bd18f627c2b

[Shekinah]

Just reading through this article, how can they criminalise someone living with a second spouse even if they aren't legally married? That's ridiculous. You'd think people could live with whoever they want and call it what they want. As long as they don't break the law marrying a second person, I fail to see how that's anybody's business.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/sister-wives-protest-in-salt-lake-city-utah-to-be-polygamous/news-story/b9cf9157aab4398f36814bd18f627c2b

Seriously O.o 
if they are adult's, there is consent and they are happy let them do so. And if they make polygamy punishable, they should also start to make cheating punishable by law! After all if you go to the point of things, it's one person sleeping with multiple person's at the same time. Difference is, the one who is honest and open about it is going to get punished and the one who sneaks behind other's backs is getting rewarded for it O.o

[Anteros]

Seriously O.o 
if they are adult's, there is consent and they are happy let them do so. And if they make polygamy punishable, they should also start to make cheating punishable by law! After all if you go to the point of things, it's one person sleeping with multiple person's at the same time. Difference is, the one who is honest and open about it is going to get punished and the one who sneaks behind other's backs is getting rewarded for it O.o

I agree.

[Anteros]

Judge Orders NYPD To Disclose Surveillance Of Black Lives Matter Protests: http://www.essence.com/news/nypd-disclose-surveillance-black-lives-matter-protests?xid=essence_socialflow_twitter

[Trigon]

Just a few days after Betsy DeVos was confirmed, the White House has removed its Disability Education Rights webpage, and replaced it with a site that provides inadequate at best information: http://www.politicususa.com/2017/02/11/trump-attacks-disabled-children-removing-disability-education-rights-website.html

[Lustful Bride]

Just a few days after Betsy DeVos was confirmed, the White House has removed its Disability Education Rights webpage, and replaced it with a site that provides inadequate at best information: http://www.politicususa.com/2017/02/11/trump-attacks-disabled-children-removing-disability-education-rights-website.html

As a person who has been disabled all her life....this honestly scares the shit out of me so bad :(

Its easy enough as it is to abuse and mistreat the differently abled...now they are just making it child's play.

[Missy]

Just reading through this article, how can they criminalise someone living with a second spouse even if they aren't legally married? That's ridiculous. You'd think people could live with whoever they want and call it what they want. As long as they don't break the law marrying a second person, I fail to see how that's anybody's business.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/sister-wives-protest-in-salt-lake-city-utah-to-be-polygamous/news-story/b9cf9157aab4398f36814bd18f627c2b

Mormonism expresses a hatred for Polygamy which is 99% for show. They're paranoid about being hated for it, it's a sensitivity which has been interweaved into their culture for generations even though there's an element where they would readopt polygynic polygamy were it to become acceptable. For now however they do everything they can to prevent from being judged for it.

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/od/1?lang=eng

In any case the bit I hate is that polygamy is so often portrayed as 1)Polygyny exclusively and 2)Principally sexual. Which is the real simplification in my mind.

[Skynet]

Mormonism expresses a hatred for Polygamy which is 99% for show. They're paranoid about being hated for it, it's a sensitivity which has been interweaved into their culture for generations even though there's an element where they would readopt polygynic polygamy were it to become acceptable. For now however they do everything they can to prevent from being judged for it.

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/od/1?lang=eng

In any case the bit I hate is that polygamy is so often portrayed as 1)Polygyny exclusively and 2)Principally sexual. Which is the real simplification in my mind.

Another thing to consider is that the main cast of "Sister Wives" belong not to the mainstream Mormonism, but the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints who broke off from the majority church due to the polygamy ban. Fundamentalist Mormons view mainstream Mormons as heretics, while the mainstream Mormons view the fundies more or less with shame and disgust, quite a bit due to the FLDS' acceptance of child abuse.

The problem is less polygamy, and more the fact that the FLDS is, to put it simply, a thinly-disguised pedophile cult which was run by a man who sought to conceal his followers (especially the women) from modern technology and the outside world and often tossed teenage and older boys out of the religious compounds so that he and other older child molestors would not face "competition" for the girls. Given that outside media and in some cases modern technology such as television and phones were banned, these "lost boys" were more or less unable to integrate into modern society.

The show "Sister Wives" is intentionally inaccurate, in that while the family seems more or less assimilated and lives in an apparent consensual relationship, they're still members of the FLDS and thus part of an organization which ruins the lives of innocent people. I worry that people who watch that reality show will either a) believe that their group is mainstream Mormonsim, which is unfair to most Mormons, and b) assume that most Fundamentalist Mormons live in loving relationships of consenting adults, which is not the case sadly.


Fundamentalist Mormonism and its sordid history in this regard is a large reason why polygamous (and polyamorous) relationships aren't looked at well in the US. Many people worry that it will legitimize the sexual predators. While I personally believe that people should be free to have as many or as few lovers as they can manage in a healthy way, the fact that the "Sister Wives" cast is making headlines for the cause leaves a sour taste in my mouth.



Also apparently quite a few Iraqi Kurds are conflicted about President Trump. On the one hand he promised to help arm Kurdish fighters against Daeesh, on the other hand his Islamophobia leaves a sour taste in a lot of peoples' mouths.

Also kudos to having the silliest restaurant sign I've seen:

[Trigon]

As a person who has been disabled all her life....this honestly scares the shit out of me so bad :(

Its easy enough as it is to abuse and mistreat the differently abled...now they are just making it child's play.

It should also be noted that the contempt for the "disabled" was one of the key traits of the early 20th century fascist movements...


In other news, it seems that Trump is having great difficulty in getting along with the intelligence community: http://observer.com/2017/02/donald-trump-administration-mike-flynn-russian-embassy/

Don't know how exactly this will play out, but it could imply that Trump could run into a lot of trouble real soon...

[Oniya]

In other news, it seems that Trump is having great difficulty in getting along with the intelligence community: http://observer.com/2017/02/donald-trump-administration-mike-flynn-russian-embassy/

Anyone else remember Jay Leno's 'Headlines'?  I can just see this one getting written as 'Trump may face intelligence issues.'

[Anteros]

Welcome Place worried it will run out of resources if asylum-seekers keep pouring into Manitoba from U.S. : http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/manitoba/welcome-place-call-for-help-1.3979227

Thousands of Romanian protesters return to streets: http://www.france24.com/en/20170212-thousands-romanian-protesters-return-streets?ref=tw_i

Revealed: FBI terrorism taskforce investigating Standing Rock activists: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/10/standing-rock-fbi-investigation-dakota-access

[Trigon]

Revealed: FBI terrorism taskforce investigating Standing Rock activists: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/10/standing-rock-fbi-investigation-dakota-access

A repeat of COINTELPRO, I take it?

I suspect it will get worse under Trump...

[Sara Nilsson]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/dept-of-education-apologizes-for-misspelling-w-e-b-du-bois-181846110.html

Department of Education misspells W.E.B. Du Bois, then edits it with another misspelled edit. Good start for DeVos for sure ^^

[Anteros]

White supremacists brutally attack brothers outside NYC bar over anti-fascist sticker on phone: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/white-supremacists-brutally-attack-brothers-outside-nyc-bar-over-anti-fascist-sticker-on-phone/

Stepson shot KKK chief Frank Ancona in the head – and wife helped dump the body in the river: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/stepson-shot-kkk-chief-frank-ancona-in-the-head-and-wife-helped-dump-the-body-in-the-river-police/

[Lustful Bride]

Valentine's day was banned in the capitol of Pakistan.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pakistan-capital-bans-valentines-day/ar-AAmTgkP?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

I just find this more funny than anything

[AmberStarfire]

I'm not a millennial, but I for one drink instant coffee.. and like it.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/dating/the-dating-dos-and-donts-for-aussie-millennials/news-story/3f4065fd5c1d62a9417964b24152f3c2

[Missy]

I'm not a millennial, but I for one drink instant coffee.. and like it.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/dating/the-dating-dos-and-donts-for-aussie-millennials/news-story/3f4065fd5c1d62a9417964b24152f3c2

heh, seems my anxiety is pretty normal then.

The farthest 85 per cent of us would go to entice an attractive stranger is ... eye contact. Erotic, seductive, thrilling eye contact.

Harlots.

[Missy]

USAF For the win!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/f-35-just-absolutely-slaughtered-152207356.html

Donald J Trump, the greatest threat America has ever known.
http://uproxx.com/technology/trump-android-phone/

Trumps technically not allowed to delete his tweets.
https://theconversation.com/donald-trumps-tweets-are-now-presidential-records-71973

[Kythia]

Valentine's day was banned in the capitol of Pakistan.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pakistan-capital-bans-valentines-day/ar-AAmTgkP?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

I just find this more funny than anything

I've been following this, and its actually a bit more serious than it first appears. Pakistan is a religious country - not (necessarily) in the sense that its population are religious like, say, Brazil but in a rather more obvious and Vatican-like way.  Islam is the state religion and is essentially inseperable from the secular government in law.  However, for the last ten/fifteen years the central struggle in Pakistan has been between a more modern, liberal interpretation of Islam and a more conservative one.  The sides can be roughly tracked by Pakistani feeling about the US, correlation isn't causation obviously - I'm not claiming that liking the US causes liberalism or liberalism causes a liking of the US. 

Obviously Pakistani opinion of the US crashed during the last four years of Obama, and there was a correlated growth in Islamism.

This ruling though is symptomatic of further regression in Pakistan.  There was actually the same petition last year and it was rejected, this year it has been accepted. Government opinion is hardening against things and honestly that's not good.  Not good for Pakistan, not good for India, not good for people in general.

While the story itself is, I guess, a little bit funny the politics that led to the story are worrisome.

[Lustful Bride]

USAF For the win!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/f-35-just-absolutely-slaughtered-152207356.html

This deserves glorious recognition.    To the Danger Zone!

I've been following this, and its actually a bit more serious than it first appears. Pakistan is a religious country - not (necessarily) in the sense that its population are religious like, say, Brazil but in a rather more obvious and Vatican-like way.  Islam is the state religion and is essentially inseperable from the secular government in law.  However, for the last ten/fifteen years the central struggle in Pakistan has been between a more modern, liberal interpretation of Islam and a more conservative one.  The sides can be roughly tracked by Pakistani feeling about the US, correlation isn't causation obviously - I'm not claiming that liking the US causes liberalism or liberalism causes a liking of the US. 

Obviously Pakistani opinion of the US crashed during the last four years of Obama, and there was a correlated growth in Islamism.

This ruling though is symptomatic of further regression in Pakistan.  There was actually the same petition last year and it was rejected, this year it has been accepted. Government opinion is hardening against things and honestly that's not good.  Not good for Pakistan, not good for India, not good for people in general.

While the story itself is, I guess, a little bit funny the politics that led to the story are worrisome.

Well...that's actually kind of horrible :(

[Lustful Bride]

Half Brother of Kim Jong Un dies in Malaysia.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/who-was-kim-jong-nam/ar-AAmVNFo?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[gaggedLouise]

Half Brother of Kim Jong Un dies in Malaysia.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/who-was-kim-jong-nam/ar-AAmVNFo?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

The story of the leader's half brother getting sneaked up on and poisoned in a big airport by two attractive women agents..sounds like vintage James Bond, doesn't it? What normal spooks agency would choose a big, crowded airport building as the venue for a head-on assassination? ^_ ^