The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 10.28 Mr Beast's 20 Million Tree Challenge, Deadly Gender Reveal, ISIS Leader Killed, & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 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 MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson and Mark Rober and honestly now just so many. And MrBeast, for those that are unfamiliar, you know, he's known on YouTube for a number of reasons. Lately, it's kind of charitable stunts,

Starting point is 00:00:27 crazy challenges involving huge sums of money. And around MrBeast, earlier this year, a subscriber came up with an idea for MrBeast 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, MrBeast said the fans had spammed him with this request

Starting point is 00:00:41 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.

Starting point is 00:00:56 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. So that's why one, Mr. Beast collaborated with the Arbor Day Foundation, one of the largest nonprofit conservation organizations dedicated to planting trees. And they say that for every dollar raised,

Starting point is 00:01:11 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

Starting point is 00:01:27 from influencers like Jeffree Star, Ninja, Simply Nailogical, and Dr. Mike. And I mean, honestly, there's too many names to mention 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

Starting point is 00:01:41 by adding this little thing underneath the video, 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

Starting point is 00:01:59 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 the 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,

Starting point is 00:02:14 despite the massive praise that people have given to Mr. Beast in 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'll take years before the new trees can actually make a considerable impact. But regarding those comments,

Starting point is 00:02:28 we saw Mr. Beast responding saying, "'Just to be clear, we all 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.'" Right, and long-term survival is key

Starting point is 00:02:39 for trees to have an 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.

Starting point is 00:02:52 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,

Starting point is 00:03:05 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 working time to do something about climate change. And as far as my opinion on this, not a shocker.

Starting point is 00:03:20 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

Starting point is 00:03:31 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, MrBeast is our bamf of the day. Yeah, ultimately that's that.

Starting point is 00:03:45 And then, rather quickly, let's talk about gender reveal parties. And the main point that I'm going to kind of attach to the 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 gender reveal party turning into a massive fire when the reportedly consumed 47,000 acres and caused more than eight million dollars 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 Sheriff's Office

Starting point is 00:04:26 released a statement saying, "'Our investigation showed that members "'of the Cry-Mir 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 that the family

Starting point is 00:04:39 was trying to create a device that could shoot colored powder in the air to share the gender of the baby. Gunpowder was placed at the bottom of a homemade stand that was well to do 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

Starting point is 00:04:55 over the top of the metal tubing, inadvertently creating a pipe bomb. Instead of the gunpowder shooting the powder out of the top of the stand, the stand exploded, sending metal pieces flying. And unfortunately, the statement goes on to say, "'One of the metal pieces struck Miss Cremier in the head, "'causing instant death.'"

Starting point is 00:05:10 And to really hit how violent this explosion was, according to the 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.

Starting point is 00:05:27 And it, 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.

Starting point is 00:05:44 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 a 15 year old girl

Starting point is 00:05:58 by the name of Ayla Mansman. And she posted that note at Cape Elizabeth High School on September 16th. For her part, Mansman said that she did it because she believed that school administrators were overlooking other students' claims of sexual harassment and assault. And actually, with this whole story,

Starting point is 00:06:11 you had footage surfacing of Mansman 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 Mansman's mother saying that the school originally told her daughter that she wouldn't be punished for this incident.

Starting point is 00:06:22 But after Mansman went public about the story to the media, she and two other girls were suspended for three days, with school officials saying that the note constituted bullying and that if it happened again, they could be expelled. Mansman's family then appealed that decision with administrators saying that the student could continue to go to school

Starting point is 00:06:36 while an investigation was pending. Then you had the principal saying that he conducted 47 interviews over three weeks, and he called the girls' 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.

Starting point is 00:06:52 That student saying that he'd 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, right,

Starting point is 00:07:07 the ACLU got involved suing the school district on behalf of Mansman, with the ACLU arguing that Mansman 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, Mansman's lawyers had requested a restraining order that would block the school from suspending her until the incident was resolved.

Starting point is 00:07:24 And he 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

Starting point is 00:07:38 on how it handled that accusation, but school officials did say they 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,

Starting point is 00:07:55 saying it would likely be overturned on the grounds of free speech, and the judge also saying it could be overturned 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

Starting point is 00:08:12 "'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 Mansman nor any other student who expresses a comparable view in similar fashion will be denied access to schools simply because her viewpoints offends the sensibilities

Starting point is 00:08:27 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 and areas of free student communication. Following this, you had the ACLU celebrating this decision saying it's a reminder that students quote,

Starting point is 00:08:40 "'Do not check their rights at the schoolhouse gate.'" And as far as the school goes, you're the superintendent saying quote, we will continue to review and update district policies to align with state law and meet the needs of the district. Ultimately for now, that is where this story ends. And with that, I pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts on this?

Starting point is 00:08:55 Do you think that Mansman 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? 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.

Starting point is 00:09:07 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.

Starting point is 00:09:32 U.S. 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. 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

Starting point is 00:10:16 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, they had a lot of people comparing this to when Obama announced when US forces had killed bin Laden. You know, with this news, you have many wondering, well, what does this mean for ISIS? And so we're gonna try and break that down.

Starting point is 00:10:36 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 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 Erdogan claiming that the operation

Starting point is 00:10:51 was necessary to clear Syrian Kurdish groups at the border 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 likely remember, a bunch of world leaders and politicians in the United States, including some of Trump's biggest supporters,

Starting point is 00:11:04 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 serious Kurdish forces busy fighting military attack from Turkey, ISIS would feel emboldened to attack and take over areas of Syria that the United States

Starting point is 00:11:18 and the Kurds had fought to reclaim. And two, Syrian Kurdish forces who had 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 their responsibilities to fight the Turkish invasion, making it easy for the captured fighters and their families to break out of the camps.

Starting point is 00:11:32 And already, we have seen some reports that ISIS prisoners have already broken free from the camps. And though there are conflicting reports of how many exactly have escaped, last week, US Special Envoy for Syria, Jim Jeffery, said in a testimony before the Senate that over 100 ISIS militants had escaped and that it was unclear where they were.

Starting point is 00:11:47 But 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 understaffed, 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

Starting point is 00:12:02 have been filled by the Syrian government and Russia, who the Kurdish forces have now allied with for military and tactical 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

Starting point is 00:12:15 to drive ISIS out of the region. So essentially what they're arguing is that if ISIS were to reemerge, 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? While many have said that this is certainly a huge symbolic blow for the organization,

Starting point is 00:12:27 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 Counterterrorism 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

Starting point is 00:12:42 was obsessed with security and keeping himself safe, and as a result, he gave ISIS a lot of power to act on their own, with American and Iraqi officials telling the New York Times that he largely limited his communications with the outside world, meaning that ISIS mostly operated with little leadership on his part.

Starting point is 00:12:55 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

Starting point is 00:13:09 under Baghdadi has prompted the group and its individual cells to become much more decentralized in both decision making and financing, especially in Syria and Iraq. So I'm also pointing out that US covert action against Islamist extremists have killed a number of militant leaders and the group still has lived on. According to Javed Ali,

Starting point is 00:13:24 a former White House counter-terrorism director, in the annals of modern counter-terrorism so far, history has shown as 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,

Starting point is 00:13:40 grow in recruits, or even band 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 Hassan Hassan

Starting point is 00:13:56 of the Center of Global Policy 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.

Starting point is 00:14:09 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 liked this video, let us know. Hit that like button. Also, if you're new here, you want more, hit that subscribe button. Definitely tap that bell to turn on notifications.

Starting point is 00:14:20 Also, if you're not 100% filled in, you're looking for more to watch, you can check out my latest podcast and or maybe just miss the last Philip DeFranco show, you wanna catch up, you can click or tap right there to watch either of those. But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco, you've just been filled in,

Starting point is 00:14:34 I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 10.28 Mr Beast's 20 Million Tree Challenge, Deadly Gender Reveal, ISIS Leader Killed, & More

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