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IronLionZion's JournalPentagon lifts ban on transgender troops
Source: Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Thursday that the military will no longer discriminate against transgender troops, knocking down one of the last barriers to service based on sex.
The move, nearly a year in the making, came despite last-minute concerns were raised by top brass about how to deal with the medical, housing and uniform issues for troops who are transitioning to the other sex.
“This is the right thing to do for our people and for the force,” Carter said. “We’re talking about talented Americans who are serving with distinction or who want the opportunity to serve. We can’t allow barriers unrelated to a person’s qualifications prevent us from recruiting and retaining those who can best accomplish the mission."
The Pentagon, Carter said, needs "access to 100%" of our population to develop the military force the nation needs.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/06/30/pentagon-lifts-ban-transgender-troops/86551686/
They've been planning their transgender policy for a bit and now it's official.
This would have never happened under a Republican administration.
Michael Phelps first U.S. male swimmer to make five Olympics
Source: ESPN
OMAHA, Neb. -- Michael Phelps made history Wednesday night at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, winning the 200-meter butterfly final to become the first American male swimmer to qualify for five Olympic Games.
Phelps, who finished in 1:54.84, looked up at the scoreboard and held up his open hand to recognize his fifth trip to the Games. Tom Shields finished second (1:55.81) to book his first Olympic trip.
"I think that means the most tonight,'' Phelps said, pausing to compose himself. "Just being able to finish how I want to is so important to me. Getting on this team is what I wanted to do.''
Phelps will get a chance to add to the already staggering amount of hardware he's accumulated at the last four Olympics: 18 golds and 22 medals overall. Going along for the ride this time is his first child, 7-week-old Boomer, who watched from the stands in the arms of his mom. The infant wore noise-canceling headphones adorned with American flags so he wouldn't be startled by the huge roar that went up when his daddy touched the wall first.
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Read more: http://espn.go.com/olympics/swimming/story/_/id/16625939/michael-phelps-qualifies-fifth-olympic-games-us-olympic-swimming-diving-trials
Man charged with two rapes gets one day in jail
(NEWSER) – A former Indiana University student charged with raping two women will get off with a year of probation and one day in jail, WXIN reports.
John Enochs took a plea deal and was sentenced Thursday, pleading guilty to misdemeanor battery. According to the New York Daily News, it's unclear why prosecutors decided to drop the rape charges — felonies punishable by up to 16 years in prison — against Enochs. But that didn't stop the sentence from immediately being compared to the infamously lenient one issued against Stanford swimmer Brock Turner earlier this month.
A woman says she was at an April 2015 party at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity when she went inside to use the restroom, WISH reports. She says the next thing she remembers is being naked and alone with an unknown man having sex with her. She says she told him to stop multiple times, but he wouldn't. She suffered a laceration to her genitals in the attack.
Authorities say security video showed Enochs enter the room with the victim and leave 24 minutes later. Police found a similar case from 2013, and that victim agreed to work with authorities; DNA evidence, eyewitness statements and IDs from the women led in September to the two rape charges against Enochs.
Indiana University has been criticized for how it handles sexual assaults on campus and currently has three Title IX complaints against it.
This will explain Brexit more than anything you'll see in General Discussion
An even more philosophical quandary, pizza cut into 8 or 12 slices?
Jolly Old England!
What guns were like when the 2nd amendment was written
and why it's time to update our laws. Yes, we do have updated communications laws about internet and technology and other stuff long after the 1st amendment was written. And we have passed and repealed prohibition and slavery amendments.
Disney beaches reopen, state believes it caught killer gator
(CNN)Walt Disney World reopened its beaches to guests Thursday, a source at the Florida theme park with knowledge of the situation told CNN.
The move comes more than a week after an alligator snatched a boy, Lane Graves, from a beach behind the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, killing him.
The beaches will open one hour after sunrise and will close an hour before sunset, the source said. (The alligator attacked the Nebraska 2-year-old shortly after 9 p.m. on June 14.)
Beaches also will include signs and temporary barriers "to further promote safety at our resort and we continue to work on permanent, long-term solutions," the source said.
On Tuesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced that it was no longer hunting alligators in the Seven Seas Lagoon where Lane was killed.
"The FWC is confident that the alligator responsible for the attack has been removed," the commission said in news release. "The conclusion took into account the proximity to the attack site of removed alligators and witness descriptions."
Following Lane's death, the FWC began monitoring the waters and trapping gators in hopes of finding the reptile responsible or eradicating the area of all alligators matching the witnesses' descriptions.
There's video at the cnn link showing the layout of the resort's hotels right by the beach.
This is the new sign they are putting up. It is an excellent sign that clearly shows the danger to anyone, including guests who don't speak English and children who think it's a nice safe looking beach to play in.
Omar Mateen used AR-15-type rifle in deadly Orlando mass shooting, same as Sandy Hook
See video at link
Officials said Orlando mass-shooting gunman Omar Mateen used an AR-15-type rifle in the nightclub gun rampage that left at least 50 people dead and 53 others wounded early Sunday morning.
Semiautomatic rifles have been linked to several deadly mass shootings in recent years. These weapons can quickly fire rounds of ammunition in short period of time with high accuracy.
In December 2012, Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementary School with an AR-15 and opened fire, killing 20 children and six adults. Sandy Hook victims' families later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Remington, the manufacturer of the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle. They said Remington is responsible in large part because of the way they market the weapon.
"[Lanza] chose the AR-15 because he was aware of how many shots it could get out," said Nicole Hockley, who lost her son Dylan in that shooting.
In the December 2015 San Bernardino shooting, husband-and-wife assassins Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik used two assault-style rifles in the terror attack that left 14 dead.
Assault-type rifles like the AR-15 have long been the subject of hot debate. The weapons were banned from 1994 to 2004 under federal law. When the ban expired, the weapons became a popular choice among gun owners.
One reason is the appeal they have for young men, fueled by enticing ads from gun manufacturers.
Weapon of choice for mass shooters
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/12/orlando-shooting-gunman-omar-mateen-used-ar-15-assault-rifle-to/
Asshole purchased the guns last week.
http://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2016/06/12/omar-mateen-purchased-firearms-used-in-pulse-shooting-in-florida-in-the-last-week
Someone else posted a video showing how the AR-15 is a terrible choice for home defense or hunting, or anything other than killing people.
Photos Of This Husky Raised As A Cat Are Exactly What You Need Right Now
Read this thought catalog here for the rest of the pics: http://thoughtcatalog.com/michael-koh/2014/05/photos-of-this-husky-raised-as-a-cat-are-exactly-what-you-need-right-now/
Obama to gun owners — I’m not looking to disarm you
Pay very close attention to his comments from 2:00 on ISIS supporters.
Then there are reports that the FBI investigated Omar Mateen before:
FBI investigated him before
His full name was Omar Mir Seddique Mateen and he was born in New York. His parents are originally from Afghanistan, a U.S. official said.
The FBI interviewed Mateen in 2013 and 2014, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ronald Hopper told reporters Sunday.
"Those interviews turned out to be inconclusive, so there was nothing to keep the investigation going," Hopper said.
Mateen was not under investigation at the time of Sunday's shooting or under surveillance, Hopper said.
"The FBI first became aware of Mateen in 2013 when he made inflammatory comments to co-workers alleging possible terrorist ties," Hopper said.
The investigation was closed, Hopper said, after investigators "were unable to verify the substance of his comments."
In 2014, the FBI interviewed Mateen again over possible connections with an American suicide bomber.
"We determined that contact was minimal and did not constitute a substantive relationship or threat at that time," Hopper said.
Officials earlier said Mateen was one of hundreds of people on the agency's radar suspected of being ISIS sympathizers. There was no indication he was plotting to carry out an attack, the officials said.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/us/orlando-shooter-omar-mateen/index.html
And ask any Republican exactly why they want ISIS supporters to have the right to keep and bear weapons of mass murder. As if ISIS is a well-regulated militia organized to throw tea into a harbor to avoid taxes?
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