What's in the news?

[Lustful Bride]

US military to accept Transgender recruits on Monday.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-military-to-accept-transgender-recruits-on-monday-pentagon/ar-BBHuwb9?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

I am unfamiliar with the process of transition, but so long as they aren't too held back by hormone treatments I am all for their entry. Otherwise it would be as problematic as a diabetic needing insulin having to deploy.

[Sara Nilsson]

Well it isn't quite the same as insulin. You can easily go without hormones for a week, two with no real side effects. Only once you start coming towards a month that you really feel it. And then it isn't anything like what lack of insulin does. Had to go without my hormones for a month before the surgery, only difference was slight irritation, muskier sweat and a little life back in the hated thing.

[Lustful Bride]

Well it isn't quite the same as insulin. You can easily go without hormones for a week, two with no real side effects. Only once you start coming towards a month that you really feel it. And then it isn't anything like what lack of insulin does. Had to go without my hormones for a month before the surgery, only difference was slight irritation, muskier sweat and a little life back in the hated thing.

That's there an issue really :/ eventually a war may come where we aren't fighting an insurgency and itl be more conventional. And supply lines get stretched even in the best of times.

[Sara Nilsson]

If you cant supply a unit for a month then we got bigger problems then a select few soldiers not feeling 100% due to lack of hormones. I say it is pretty much a non issue.

[Lustful Bride]

If you cant supply a unit for a month then we got bigger problems then a select few soldiers not feeling 100% due to lack of hormones. I say it is pretty much a non issue.

I suppose. Maybe in the future a better work around might be discovered.

[Sara Nilsson]

https://compete.kotaku.com/police-kill-28-year-old-after-prank-swatting-call-1821648110

A 28 year old man ends up dead after an argument in Call of Duty leads to a swatting call. The cops shot and killed the man who had nothing to do with it. The address given to the police didn't belong to either man involved in the argument.

[Arianna]

https://compete.kotaku.com/police-kill-28-year-old-after-prank-swatting-call-1821648110

A 28 year old man ends up dead after an argument in Call of Duty leads to a swatting call. The cops shot and killed the man who had nothing to do with it. The address given to the police didn't belong to either man involved in the argument.

We were just talking about this at work. This is so messed up... :(

[Cassandra LeMay]

US military to accept Transgender recruits on Monday.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-military-to-accept-transgender-recruits-on-monday-pentagon/ar-BBHuwb9?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

I am unfamiliar with the process of transition, but so long as they aren't too held back by hormone treatments I am all for their entry. Otherwise it would be as problematic as a diabetic needing insulin having to deploy.

The military itself did some exhaustive studies to figure out how to make service by transgender individuals possible. I am pretty certain they know what they are doing - unlike Trump. If you want to read up on a bit of background how the military approached this and what decisions it made, the Introduction and Background sections of this court order might be a good place to start:
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4255804/Stone-v-Trump-Memorandum-on-Order-Preliminary.pdf

(I think there was an even more detailed examination of the history behind the military allowing transgender persons to serve in another court decision, but this has been litigated in several places and I can't find the one I remember at the moment.)

[Cassandra LeMay]

(I think there was an even more detailed examination of the history behind the military allowing transgender persons to serve in another court decision, but this has been litigated in several places and I can't find the one I remember at the moment.)

Found it after all: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/sites/dcd/files/show_public_doc_0.pdf

The facts are pretty much the same, but I think this is even more detailed, plus the formatting makes it a little easier to read.

[Lustful Bride]

https://compete.kotaku.com/police-kill-28-year-old-after-prank-swatting-call-1821648110

A 28 year old man ends up dead after an argument in Call of Duty leads to a swatting call. The cops shot and killed the man who had nothing to do with it. The address given to the police didn't belong to either man involved in the argument.

That's so terrifying. 

[HairyHeretic]

Ever since I heard of swatting I figured this was going to happen, sooner or later. The morons responsible for this need to have the book thrown at them. They may not have pulled the trigger, but they're the reason someone is now dead.

[Yukina]

Ever since I heard of swatting I figured this was going to happen, sooner or later. The morons responsible for this need to have the book thrown at them. They may not have pulled the trigger, but they're the reason someone is now dead.

Heavily seconded. People who screw up this far over such a small sum and get others caught in their bullshit should be behind bars.

[Lustful Bride]

Largest protests since 2009 rock Iran as students air grievance with the government. Many have been arrested and some clashes between students and police have turned violent.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/iranians-take-to-streets-in-biggest-protest-since-crushed-2009-demonstrations/ar-BBHvSrm?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[Lustful Bride]

Poor man loses both his business and all of his bees to Vandals :(  $50K worth of bees lost.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/vandals-kill-at-least-500000-bees-in-iowa/ar-BBHwuf5?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[Sara Nilsson]

Poor man loses both his business and all of his bees to Vandals :(  $50K worth of bees lost.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/vandals-kill-at-least-500000-bees-in-iowa/ar-BBHwuf5?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

fucking hell.. hope they find the fucker and does a Nicolas Cage in Wickerman on them

[Arianna]

Not exactly news, more like something that was not in the news much after the initial shock.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-bags-of-cash-for-boko-haram-the-untold-story-of-how-nigeria-freed-its-kidnapped-girls-1513957354?mod=e2fb&nan_pid=1863323040

Very interesting read.

[Lustful Bride]

Iran issues warning to student protesters.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/iran-warns-protesters-will-pay-the-price-as-unrest-turns-deadly/ar-BBHzWSD?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[Lustful Bride]

Venezuela raises minimum wage by 40%

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/venezuela-raises-minimum-wage-40-percent-stoking-worlds-fastest-inflation/ar-BBHzLSf?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[gaggedLouise]

Kim Jong-Un, in his new year's address, boasted that he has a big red Nuke button on his desk, ready to strike at any place in the US at the drop of a hat (there's such a B-movie quality to that image, or is it a James Bond bad guys quality?).

When I heard about it on CNN, it didn't take long before I told a family member "somebody needs to swap that red hutton with a short-circuit button, so that Kim will get a powerful electric jolt when he reaches for it upon reading somebody's latest tweets...

[Lustful Bride]

Kim Jong-Un, in his new year's address, boasted that he has a big red Nuke button on his desk, ready to strike at any place in the US at the drop of a hat (there's such a B-movie quality to that image, or is it a James Bond bad guys quality?).

When I heard about it on CNN, it didn't take long before I told a family member "somebody needs to swap that red hutton with a short-circuit button, so that Kim will get a powerful electric jolt when he reaches for it upon reading somebody's latest tweets...

.....I genuinely wonder if Kim has any self awareness at how much he embodies cheese B movie villains.

[Lustful Bride]

Scientists predict that the Cocoa plant, the source of chocolate, will be going extinct by 2050.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/restaurantsandnews/scientists-expect-chocolate-to-go-extinct-by-2050/ar-BBHMHSQ?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15


*curls up in fetal position* no...noo... 

[gaggedLouise]

Scientists predict that the Cocoa plant, the source of chocolate, will be going extinct by 2050.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/restaurantsandnews/scientists-expect-chocolate-to-go-extinct-by-2050/ar-BBHMHSQ?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15


*curls up in fetal position* no...noo... 

I think you can feel safe. Always thought cocoa was actually cultivated on plantations and not simply picked from trees in the wild jungle...the msn article seems to assume that most cocoa would be harvested in the wild, and so it would be vulnerable to the shrinking areas of rain forest in Africa, but looking around a bit for info about cocoa growing, it does look like it's mostly done on plantations and in forests of cocoa trees - and those wouldn't be at any risk of disappearing. Unless the entire climate becomes more desert-like, of course.

According to Wikipedia, the top five producers of raw cocoa in the world are (in turn) the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria and Brazil. The three African countries in there have minimal areas of rainforest, so in those countries it must be plantation grown, and I'm willing to bet that's true for Brazil and Indonesia too. Chocolate is a lucrative crop, the demand is steady and rising all over the world, so there's little risk of well-kept cocoa farms going out of business.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobroma_cacao#Cultivation

[Lustful Bride]

South Korea tries to open talks with the North once more.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/south-korea-offers-talks-with-north-ahead-of-olympics/ar-BBHLH8D?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15


Protests in Iran leave 20 dead.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/iran-protests-and-death-toll-grow-as-tension-rises/ar-BBHM3jd?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[WindFish]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2018/01/02/youtuber-logan-paul-apologizes-for-showing-body-in-japans-suicide-forest/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.fefd4fc46769

Being older than 25, I was lucky enough never to have known who this douchebag was until this came out. I wish it stayed this way.

What an asshole. Showing a complete lack of respect to the victim and the victim's family all for the sake of views is NOT how you raise suicide prevention awareness. The fact that the vast majority of his audience are minors makes this even more disturbing.

[Lustful Bride]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2018/01/02/youtuber-logan-paul-apologizes-for-showing-body-in-japans-suicide-forest/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.fefd4fc46769

Being older than 25, I was lucky enough never to have known who this douchebag was until this came out. I wish it stayed this way.

What an asshole. Showing a complete lack of respect to the victim and the victim's family all for the sake of views is NOT how you raise suicide prevention awareness. The fact that the vast majority of his audience are minors makes this even more disturbing.

The worst part is how throughout the video this asshole cant stop laughing at the body. Now don't get me wrong, I laugh when I get scared or nervous but you can tell I am still scared, this was him just laughing at someone who took their own life and thinking of how to monetize it.

I hate that so many other youtubers put out really good content and actually try to respect their audiences, but then just...ugh. Now I know why old people hate the young, and im only 23.