What's in the news?

[Missy]

Inevitably Trump begins the process of goig back on his promises and alienating his voter base

Trumps bad for economics and his advisors are no help

[Lustful Bride]

It seems Syria may be burning bodies to hide the evidence of their slaughter.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-syria-is-burning-bodies-to-hide-proof-of-mass-killings/ar-BBBatsi?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[Lustful Bride]

Chechnya is facing accusations of committing a Gay Genocide, arresting any suspected gays only for them to turn up either severely beaten or dead later on. If they turn up again at all.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/chechnya-accused-of-gay-genocide/ar-BBBcUNu?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15


Puerto Rican nationalist( who has ties to several bombings in both the US and Puerto Rico back in the 70s) is due to be released from his house arrest and already being hailed by some on the island as a hero.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/terrorist-or-hero-puerto-rican-nationalist-to-be-freed/ar-BBBbAez?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

In my book he's nothing but terrorist scum and the island is worse with him being there.

[Lustful Bride]

Protests outside the Turkish Embassy in Washington Escalate to violence.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/17/erdogans-bodyguards-in-violent-clash-with-protesters-in-washington-dc

There are tons of videos of the situation, some of which depicting the Turkish guards beating and kicking American protesters to the ground. One I saw actually showed a US DCPD officer using his baton to beat a guard away who was kicking a woman on the ground.

Jesus it got ugly so fast. It looked like it was getting ready to turn into a 3 way fight.

[Iniquitous]

https://a.msn.com/r/2/BBBfrcv?m=en-us

Mueller is now overseeing the probe into the Russian - Trump connection

[Iniquitous]

FCC votes to overturn Net Neutrality


I swear, the Repubs in congress are like a bunch of children running amok breaking anything and everything they touch.

[Lustful Bride]

I think im done with the Reps for the next 20 years. These last 100+ days have only shown me they really have no place having such power.

[AmberStarfire]

This is quite an interesting and sad article (trigger warning: There is discussion of violence and rape):
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/the-incredible-story-of-the-murder-of-judith-johnson-and-how-her-daughter-found-her-killer/news-story/0ebea33bd55fca9a3b0023b7a5e6738b

[Beguile's Mistress]

Trump Told Russians That Firing ‘Nut Job’ Comey Eased Pressure From Investigation

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/us/politics/trump-russia-comey.html?emc=edit_na_20170519&nl=breaking-news&nlid=72754896&ref=cta&_r=0


Russia probe reaches current White House official, people familiar with the case say

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-probe-reaches-current-white-house-official-people-familiar-with-the-case-say/2017/05/19/7685adba-3c99-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html?utm_term=.770908c63559&wpisrc=al_alert-COMBO-politics%252Bnation&wpmk=1

[Beguile's Mistress]

Just watched a story on the NBC Nightly News.  Government officials in the countries Trump is set to visit in the coming days have been asked to limit their speeches to less than five minutes in order to keep his attention because it wanders after that.

[Missy]

Someone needs to legally change Trumps name to "Octehedral Trainwreck"

[Oniya]

Someone needs to legally change Trumps name to "Octehedral Trainwreck"

Octohedral?  Are we sure he's that sharp?

[Missy]

Octohedral?  Are we sure he's that sharp?

Heh, I meant it as in a trainwreck so terrible that it amounted to the equivalent of eight such vehicles simultaneously, but really I had used the term incorrectly. Maybe one day I'll go sort out what term might be more accurately defined as "having pertinence to the number eight" or some such and other.

EDIT:
"Octuple Trainwreck"

[Oniya]

I'll go with that - Misfortune of having a d8 sitting on my desk and thinking about angles.    D4s are known as caltrops around here.

[Lustful Bride]

US VP  Pence vows to rebuild the military.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pence-marks-armed-forces-day-with-vow-to-rebuild-military/ar-BBBkCcb?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

Maybe he could start by actually helping fix the VA and the ungodly ineffective VA hospitals. I'm sure the vets would love to be thrown a bone like that. but then again that would require more effort on their part than just 'throw money at it'. And we can't ask them to do actual labor.

[Lustful Bride]

Melted Permafrost causes minor flood in the Arctic Doomsday Seed Vault.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/don%e2%80%99t-panic-humanity%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98doomsday%e2%80%99-seed-vault-is-probably-still-safe/ar-BBBkOJu?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[gaggedLouise]

Canadian student body apologizes to the transgender community for including Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side in a playlist, implying that the song's lyrics would have a wash of transphobia to them.

This is tonedeaf, and naive. I suppose what ticked some of those students off was lines like "Shaved her legs and then he was a she..." and "But she never lost her head / even when she was giving head. The song was written in 1972, at the dawn of gay and trans awareness in the public, but Reed had known and rubbed elbows with the people he was evoking since the early 1960s. Now, any songwriter (or filmmaker, novelist etc) who wants to engage with a wider audience has to work with some of the codes, expressions and cultural shorthands that are around at the time, beyond the artist's own local niche. If every single expression in the book, or on the album, is to be of your own making and cleared of all historical debris, the end result would look unreadable to almost everybody.

"Shaved her legs and then he was a she" may not be perfect by today's standards - if it turned up in the newspaper it would raise a few questions - but as a shorthand for somebody's decision to step into a new gender skin and mix with the others it does the job. Reed (like his friend David Bowie) was talking about transwomen to people who had never even thought about it beyond the concept of a cheapish "dragshow". Of course they had to use clichés and shorthands sometimes, but they never sang about their subjects in a dismissive way. Reed is going for a tone in the song that's both casual, mildly erotic and sassy, and I'd say he succeeds. The claim that it would be transphobic is as wide off the mark as if one would say Like a Virgin was about paedophilia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG6fayQBm9w

[Oniya]

For those unfamiliar with the history of the song, this is Holly.

[AmberStarfire]

I saw this one today:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-very-considerate-person-fixed-ivanka-trumps-book-display_us_591b1d5fe4b07d5f6ba670be?8hh&section=us_arts

[Lustful Bride]

There has been a confirmed explosion at the Ariana Grande Concert in the UK. Fatalities and injuries are reported but nothing else has been discerned at the moment.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/some-killed-in-blast-at-ariana-grande-concert-in-british-arena/ar-BBBpkeK?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[Silk]

There has been a confirmed explosion at the Ariana Grande Concert in the UK. Fatalities and injuries are reported but nothing else has been discerned at the moment.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/some-killed-in-blast-at-ariana-grande-concert-in-british-arena/ar-BBBpkeK?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

Apparently it has now been confirmed to be a Terrorist attack, with a bomb set to explode in the Foyer. But that's second hand information on my end.

[Lustful Bride]

Remember, if you see something, say something. Keep an eye open for suspicious bags and packages.

Safety is everyone's job.

[elone]

Karma

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/05/22/veteran-big-game-hunter-dies-after-elephant-felled-by-gunfire-collapses-on-him/?utm_term=.75f7f00beb76

[Orval Wintermute]

There has been a confirmed explosion at the Ariana Grande Concert in the UK. Fatalities and injuries are reported but nothing else has been discerned at the moment.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/some-killed-in-blast-at-ariana-grande-concert-in-british-arena/ar-BBBpkeK?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

22 dead, 59 injury with a number of those still in surgery more than 12 hours after the attack. And the youngest victim is being reported as being 8 years old.
I just can't wrap my head around what has happened.

[Mithlomwen]

Prayers for everyone impacted by that.   

In other news....

After Trump signs 100 billion dollar deal with Saudi Arabia (A deal negotiated by his son in law):

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/19/politics/jared-kushner-saudi-arms-deal-lockheed-martin/

Saudi Arabia pledges 100 million to Ivanka proposed fund:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/21/politics/saudi-pledge-trump-women/