- Sup you beautiful bastards?
Hope you've had a fantastic Monday.
Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show,
and let's just jump into it.
The first thing we're going to talk about today
is actually awesome news
and it feels like we don't get enough
of a chance to actually talk
about the good that's happening.
And at the center of this story
you have the massively successful YouTubers
that are Mr. Beast, aka Jimmy Donaldson,
and Mark Rober, and honestly now just so many.
And Mr. Beast, for those that are unfamiliar,
he's known on YouTube for a number of reasons.
Lately it's kind of charitable stunts,
crazy challenges involving huge sums of money.
And around Mr. Beast earlier this year,
a subscriber came up with an idea
for Mr. Beast to plant 20 million trees.
A request that just went viral.
And so much so in fact,
that in the latest video announcing a new project,
Mr. Beast said that fans had spammed him
with this request so often
that he had to take on the challenge .
And that challenge is to genuinely
get 20 million trees planted.
And he kicked off the campaign in Oregon
by planting hundreds of trees with friends
and fans in a large field.
With YouTuber Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer,
also joining in by using drones to plant trees.
But of course, you know, 20 million trees,
that is a massive goal.
That's bigger than one or two YouTubers, one or two videos.
And so that's why one, Mr. Beast collaborated
with the Arbor Day Foundation,
one of the largest non-profit conservation organizations
dedicated to planting trees.
And they say that for every dollar raised,
one tree will be planted in an area of high need
around the globe.
And two, Mr. Beast requested and got the support
of hundreds of massive creators.
You had videos being shared by creators like PewDiePie,
Jacksepticeye, The Infographics Show, Guava Juice,
The Try Guys, and so many others.
As well as huge donations and shout-outs
from influencers like Jeffree Star, Ninja,
Simply Nailogical, and Doctor Mike.
And I mean honestly there's too many names to mentions here.
According to the Verge, more than 600 YouTubers
have expressed their support.
Also YouTube itself was supporting this move.
Not only making it incredibly easy
for people to donate by adding this little thing
underneath the video,
but YouTube even confirming
that they would cover all transaction fees
for donations made on the platform.
And as far as how successful this has all been,
just checking this morning over $5.6 million
has been donated to this cause.
You can also join in by either clicking the link
in the description or hopefully click the widget
that should be underneath this video.
The goal of team trees is to reach
that $20 million goal by January 1st, 2020.
And as far as the trees themselves,
according to this site's FAQ section,
the trees will be planted throughout 2020,
with a completion goal of December 2022.
Now despite how awesome I personally think this is,
despite the massive praise that people have given
to Mr. Beast and this campaign,
Mr. Beast has also faced criticism
for those who argue that he should find
more effective ways to fight climate change.
Some specifically pointing out that it will take years
before the new trees can actually
make a considerable impact.
But regarding those comments,
we saw Mr. Beast responding saying,
just to be clear we all need realize
20 million trees won't fix climate change.
But at the end of the day,
20 million more trees is better than zero.
We want to take action,
because doing nothing is how we got here.
And long term survival is key
for trees to make impact on our planet.
So there also needs to be an effort
to protect and nurture these new trees
in order to help them help our environment.
And on that note, you had the Arbor Day Foundation's
Director of Public Relations, Danny Cohn,
saying that some of the funds raised
will be used to help maintain all of the trees planted.
Adding, we're not just planting and walking away.
There have also been concerns that too many trees
will be planted in the wrong places,
which can actually be damaging to some ecosystems.
But at the same time, the Arbor Day Foundation
addressed those concerns by noting that it partners
with agencies like the US Forest Service,
the National Park Service,
and The National Association of State Foresters
to ensure that they're planting trees responsibly.
And also with all of this happening,
I think Mark Rober hit on an important note
that this is quote, a constructive way
to send a message to the politicians.
It's freaking time to do something about climate change.
And as far as my opinion on this,
not a shocker, I mean I opened up saying
I think this is an awesome story.
I love it, I mean it's part of the reason why
I'm adding my megaphone to it.
I personally believe that there are very few
people on this platform that could bring
so many different YouTubers together
to kind of go towards this one goal.
And I always think it's fantastic
when we have these people with just massive platforms
using it for a general good.
And so that's why today among so many others
that are involved with this Mr. Beast
is our BAMF of the day.
But yeah, ultimately that's that.
And then rather quickly, let's talk about
gender reveal parties.
And the main point that I'm going to kind of attach
to this story right at the beginning
is I feel like we got to just chill out
with the gender reveals.
And I don't mean don't do it,
I mean I know there's like a little debate around that.
Do it in a way where there's not an explosion involved.
Right?
You cut into a cake, maybe you pop a balloon.
You know we've had stories in the past
where you had that US border patrol agent's
gender reveal party turning into a massive fire.
One that reportedly consumed 47,000 acres
and caused more that $8 million in damage.
And now today we're seeing the news out of Iowa
that a 56 year old woman is dead
because of another gender reveal party.
And in this situation,
according to reports by the New York Times,
the Marion County sheriffs office
released a statement saying,
our investigation showed
that members of the Kreimeyer family
were experimenting with different types
of explosive material on Friday and Saturday
in an attempt to record a gender reveal
that could be posted on social media
for friends and family.
Statement going on to say say that the family
was trying to create a device
that could shoot colored powder in the air
to share the gender of the baby.
Gun powder was placed at the bottom
of a homemade stand that was welded to a metal base.
A hole had been drilled in the side for a fuse,
a piece of wood was placed on top of the gunpowder
and colored powder was placed on top of the board.
It then goes on to say that tape was then wrapped
over the top of the metal tubing,
inadvertently creating a pipe bomb.
Instead of the gunpowder shooting the powder
out the top of the stand,
the stand exploded sending metal pieces flying.
And unfortunately the statement goes on to say,
one of the metal piece struck Ms. Kreimeyer
in the head causing instant death.
And to really hit how violent this explosion was
according to this statement, one,
she was standing 45 feet away,
and two, reportedly the chunk of metal moved
with such velocity that after striking her,
it continued to travel more than 400 feet
through the air landing in a field.
And it's just this ridiculous, horrible tragedy
and once again brings us back to the point
that I made at the beginning.
Can we just relax with these gender reveal things?
There should be no possibility
that deadly explosion is paired in the same sentence
as gender reveal announcement.
That risk is not worth the potential likes and retweets.
Yeah, that's it for this one.
But from that I want to share some stuff
I love today and today in awesome,
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And the first bit of awesome is we had Jeff Wittek
kind of sort of interviewing Casey Neistat,
but mainly finally giving Casey a haircut.
You were doing God's work in this one.
Then Glamor gave us how a 20 year old YouTuber
Janelle Eliana spends her money
while living in a $2500 van.
Then Architectural Digest gave us an inside look
at Sheryl Crow's country home.
Then we got the official trailer for The Grudge.
Then we had Sideshow giving us why
the corgi mixes always look like corgis.
Really just an excuse to look at more corgis.
And if you wanna to see the full versions
of everything I just shared,
the secret link of the day,
really anything at all,
links, as always, are in the description down below.
And then let's talk about a story
that involves the first amendment and schools.
And specifically what we're talking about
is the story out of Maine
involving a high school sophomore
being suspended after posting a note
in the girls' restroom.
That note reading,
there's a rapist in our school and you know who it is.
And that high school sophomore is 15 year-old girl
by the name of Aela Mansmann,
and she posted that note at Cape Elizabeth High School
on September 16th.
For her part, Mansmann said that she did it
because she believed that school administrators
were over looking other students' claims
of sexual harassment and assault.
And actually with this whole story,
you had footage surfacing of Mansmann
bringing similar concerns
directly before the school board back in June.
But soon after posting the note,
a different student brought it to school administrators
with Mansmann's mother saying,
the school originally told her daughter
that she wouldn't be punished for this incident.
But after Mansmann went public about the story to the media,
she and two other girls were suspended for three days.
With school officials saying the note constituted bullying
and that if it happened again, they could be expelled.
Mansmann's family than appealed that decision
with administrators saying that the student
could continue to go to school
while an investigation was pending.
Then you had the principal saying
that he conducted 47 interviews over three weeks
and he called the girl's note well-intentioned.
But also saying that they had made a really bad choice.
Also, interestingly, during this investigation,
a male student stepped forward saying
he felt targeted by the note
and had been ostracized by classmates.
That student saying that he had missed class
because of what happened
and meanwhile you had other students
walking out in protest of the school's decision.
As well as some local outlets reporting waves
of gossip and fear at the school.
But the reason that we're still talking
about this today is that that story did not end there.
In fact the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU,
got involved suing the school district
on behalf of Mansmann.
With the ACLU arguing that Mansmann had taken
a quote, public stance as an ally for victims
and survivors of sexual violence
by using their first amendment rights.
And specifically here Mansmann's lawyers
had requested a restraining order
that would block the school from suspending her
until the incident was resolved.
And you also had her telling Business Insider,
I was really surprised that my school took that report
and decided to open an investigation
into whether or not I'm a bully,
versus opening an investigation
on whether or not this person
who self-identified is a perpetrator.
And to note there, the school hasn't commented
on how it handled that accusation,
but school officials do not believe
that there is a rapist on the campus.
And we've also seen in court
the district has argued that the note
was nothing more than defamation,
and so saying it wasn't protected under the first amendment.
But with this story we also saw
a massive update on Thursday
where a judge in the case ordered
a temporary block to the suspension
saying it would likely be over-turned
on the grounds of free speech,
and the judge also saying it could be
over-turned on the basis of Title IX.
Which if you don't know is a federal law
banning gender discrimination in education
and as far as why he argued this,
the judge wrote that the note was quote,
neither frivolous nor fabricated,
took place within the limited confines of the girls'
bathroom, related to a matter of concern
to the young women who might enter the bathroom
and receive the message,
and was not disruptive of school discipline.
Adding, the public has an interest in knowing
that neither Mansmann nor any other student
who expresses a comparable view in similar fashion
will be denied access to school
simply because of her viewpoints offends
the sensibilities of school administrators.
Then going on to say that more information
would be necessary to justify punishment
and that the school shouldn't have the right
to crack down on topics of social justice
in areas of free student communication.
Following this, you had the ACLU celebrating
this decision saying it's a reminder
that students quote, do not check their rights
at the schoolhouse gate.
And as far as the school goes you have the superintendent
saying quote, we will continue to review
and update district policies to align
with the state law and meet the needs of the district.
But ultimately for now that is where this story ends
and with that I pass the question off to you.
What are your thought on this?
Do you think that Mansmann is in the right
or the wrong here?
What do you think about the school's argument?
What do you think about the judge's decision
and argument there?
Yeah, I just really would love
to know your thoughts on this in those comments down below.
And then let's talk about huge news regarding
the fight against ISIS.
As you may or may not have seen
speaking in a press conference yesterday,
we saw Trump make this announcement.
- Last night the United States brought
the world's number one terrorist leader to justice.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.
He was the founder and leader of ISIS.
The most ruthless and violent terror organization
anywhere in the world.
US Special Operations Forces executed a dangerous
and daring nighttime raid in northwestern Syria
and accomplished their mission in grand style.
No personnel were lost in the operation.
While a large number of Baghdadi's fighters
and companions were killed with him.
- [Philip] Trump went on to say that Baghdadi died
by exploding a suicide vest
after he was cornered in a dead end tunnel,
also killing three of his children.
Donald Trump also continuing his announcement
notably adding--
- Baghdadi's demise demonstrates America's
relentless pursuit of terrorist leaders
and our commitment to the enduring
and total defeat of ISIS
and other terrorist organizations.
Our reach is very long.
- And you know this announcement is a big deal.
So much so that he had a lot of people comparing
this to when Obama announced when US Forces
had killed Bin Laden.
But you know with this news you have many wondering,
well what does this mean for ISIS?
And so we're going to try and break that down.
You know, there are a couple of key issues at play here.
First of all, as we've talked about
a number of times on the show
is the situation in Northern Syria.
A few weeks back, The White House announced
that the United States would remove troops
from Northern Syria
and step aside to let Turkey launch
a military operation in the region.
Turkish president Erdoğan claiming that the operation
was necessary to clear Syrian Kurdish groups
at the boarder that Turkey considers terrorists.
But also at the same time,
the US considers those groups key allies
who have done the majority of fighting
against ISIS on the ground.
And as you'll likely remember a bunch of world leaders
and politicians in the United States,
including some of Trump's biggest supporters,
condemned that move
arguing that not only was the US abandoning an ally,
but also that the move could lead
to a resurgence of ISIS in the region for two reasons.
One with US Forces gone and Syrian Kurdish Forces
busy fighting military attack from Turkey,
ISIS would feel emboldened to attack
and take over areas of Syria
that the United States and the Kurds had fought to reclaim.
And two, Syrian Kurdish forces
who have been guarding camps
holding tens of thousands of captured ISIS fighters
and their families, would be short staffed.
Again, because many of them would have to shift
the responsibilities to fight the Turkish invasion,
making it easy for the captured fighters
and their families to break out of the camps.
And already we have seen some reports
that ISIS prisoners have already broken free from the camps.
And though there are conflicting reports
on how many exactly have escaped,
last week US Special Envoy for Syria Jim Jeffrey
said in a testimony before the senate
that over 100 ISIS militants had escaped
and that it was unclear where they were.
And also on the note of those prisons,
even though Turkey and Syria agreed
to a ceasefire last week,
Kurdish Forces on the ground guarding the prisons
have said that they are still under staffed.
With one guard reportedly saying,
half of our guards were transferred to the front line.
Also something we've seen with the US
withdrawing forces in northern Syria,
the power vacuum that they've left
have been filled by the Syrian government and Russia.
Who the Kurdish Forces have now allied with
for military and tacticle support.
And while the Trump administration
has generally supported this move,
many experts have argued that Russia and Syria
just don't have the ability to organize
and command the same kind of coalition that the US did
to drive ISIS out of the region.
And so essentially what they're arguing
is that if ISIS were to re-emerge,
they wouldn't be equipped to deal with it.
Right so there was that but then of course
the other big question is, well what is the impact here?
Well many have said that this is certainly
a huge symbolic blow for the organization.
A lot of experts have basically argued
that the net impact here will not really hurt ISIS.
As Nick Rasmussen, the former head
of the National Counter Terrorism Center said,
when you think about the impact it will have
on ISIS going forward,
this is more like the close of a chapter,
but by no means the end of the story.
Others have also pointed out
that Baghdadi was obsessed with security
and keeping himself safe,
and as a result he gave ISIS a lot of power
to act of their own.
With American and Iraqi officials telling
the New York Times that he largely
limited his communication with the outside world,
meaning that ISIS mostly operated
with little leadership on his part.
And you had an anonymous regional intelligence officer
reportedly telling Newsweek,
Baghdadi was a figurehead.
He was not involved in operations or day-to-day.
All Baghdadi did was say yes or no, no planning.
You also had Sam Heller, a Senior Analyst
at the International Crisis Group
telling reporters that the autonomy of ISIS agents
under Baghdadi has prompted the group
and it's individual cells to become much more decentralized
in both decision-making and financing,
especially in Syria and Iraq.
Some also pointing out the US covert action
against Islamist extremists
have killed a number of militant leaders
and the group still has lived on.
According to Javed Alie,
a former White House counterterrorism director,
In the annals of modern counterterrorism so far,
what history has shown is these types of strikes
do not lead to the strategic collapse
or organizational defeat of a terrorism organization.
And in fact some analysts and experts
have even gone as far to say that Baghdadi's death
could embolden ISIS cells to reinvent themselves,
grow in recruits or even ban together to make bigger cells.
With the New York Times even noting
that the founder of the Islamic state and two successors,
they were killed before Baghdadi became its leader
and vastly expanded the group's sway
in the Middle East and beyond.
But still you have others who have been more optimistic.
For example, you have Hasan Hasan
of the Center of Global Policies saying,
their recovery has been very slow,
their organization is fragile
and the killing of Baghdadi is bad timing for them.
And adding, even though they have likely prepared
for this moment, it will be hard for them
to ensure the organization remains intact.
But ultimately that is where we are
with this story right now.
And that's where I'm going to end today's show.
And hey if you like this video, let us know.
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But with that said of course, as always,
my name's Philip DeFranco, you've just been phillyd in.
I love your faces and I'll see you tomorrow.