SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

THE LATEST ON THE SEX BEAT – FROM ABC LOCAL:   COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A two-star general who recently headed the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson was denied a promotion to three-star after referring to a congressional staffer as "sweetheart" during a meeting in 2016.  That's according to military news outlet Stars and Stripes, which reports that Maj. Gen. Ryan Gonsalves was administratively reprimanded after an investigation into the incident. His specific punishment, aside from being denied the promotion to lieutenant general, wasn't released by the Army.  It stems from a meeting in October 2016 between Gonsalves and office staff with Rep. Jim Langevin (D-Rhode Island) at Fort Carson. According to a report, Gonsalves called a female staffer "sweetheart," and commented on her age.  Gonsalves also told the staffer to take notes "since she was a Democrat and did not believe in funding the military," according to a report from the Army Inspector General.  Other staffers called Gonsalves' comments sexist, though others stood up for him as a professional.   Well, it is some mildly inappropriate language, requiring the general to be cautioned, but I don't think it requires denying him an earned promotion.  Some of this stuff is getting out of control, and will destroy the basic issue of appropriate behavior.

GREAT MOMENTS IN NUTRITION – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:   Chocolate may go extinct as soon as the year 2050, according to scientists from the University of California, Berkeley. The reason for this catastrophe? Climate change is affecting the natural source of chocolate, apparently.  Not to worry, however. UC Berkeley scientists are collaborating with candy manufacturer Mars, Inc. in order to combat this dilemma before chocolate becomes completely eradicated from the Earth.  According to their research, cacao plants are dissipating due to higher temperatures around the world, supplemented with drier conditions in weather. Unfortunately, these conditions aren’t suitable for cocoa farming and might even put the processing of chocolate to a halt.  "We're trying to go all in here," Barry Parkin, the chief sustainability officer of Mars, expressed to Business Insider. "There are obviously commitments the world is leaning into but, frankly, we don't think we're getting there fast enough collectively."  If chocolate is not saved, nothing else is worth it.  This is about civilization itself.  Imagine stopping at a service station food mart and not finding a Milky Way.  I can't face the thought.

THE INTERNET STRIKES AGAIN – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:    LONDON – A couple, who met on a dating site and began researching how to make homemade explosives and the deadly poison ricin, were found guilty on Monday of plotting Islamic State-inspired chemical and bomb attacks on Britain.
Munir Hassan Mohammed, 37, from Derby in central England, began sharing extremist material within weeks of meeting Londoner Rowaida El-Hassan, 32, who in turn helped him find information on making ricin.  “This then rapidly escalated and El-Hassan, a qualified pharmacist, readily passed on her knowledge to Mohammed giving him the technical assistance he needed in preparing for a terrorist attack,” said Detective Chief Inspector Paul Greenwood.  Get a load of the photos.  Would you want to meet either of them on a dating site? 

January 8, 2018